


Horoheki (放浪癖)

by ryuusukkii



Category: Naruto
Genre: A lot - Freeform, Banter, Christmas Fluff, Cliche, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Hidan (Naruto) Swears, Holidays, Light Angst, M/M, Modern Era, Multi, Polyship Roadtrip, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Threesome - M/M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, can we pretend for one second that they live in the u.s.?, deidara too, hidan is also really dumb, itachi was forced against his will, just one second please, more tags will be added, roadtrip au, simps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:41:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 55,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25180294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryuusukkii/pseuds/ryuusukkii
Summary: There's been a plan years in the making, take a road trip one day with no destination or plan. It's time to cash in.Itachi might just die before they can reach the highway.
Relationships: Deidara/Hidan (Naruto), Deidara/Uchiha Itachi, Hidan/Uchiha Itachi, hidan/itachi/deidara
Comments: 49
Kudos: 53





	1. Toledo, Ohio

**Author's Note:**

> Horoheki (放浪癖) - Wanderlust
> 
> Wanderlust - a strong, innate desire to to rove or travel about.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hidan was given thirty minutes to pack his shit.

It's four in the morning when Hidan's phone rings. 'Still Into You' by Paramore is blaring into his ear at full volume. Not opening his eyes, Hidan fumbles for the phone on his nightstand, unplugging it from the charger. He's pissed.

When he picks up, Deidara's voice gives him a second heart attack.

"Hey, Hidan, _my man_! I think it's finally time to go on that road trip we were talking about!" Deidara screams into the phone.

"Two things, you fuckin' _idiot_. One, it's four in the morning and you're screaming into my ear. Two, I have absolutely no fuckin' idea what the hell you're talking about," Hidan lectures, rubbing his face with his free hand in an attempt to wake himself up more. There's no use trying to go back to bed after being woken up so suddenly. 

"I'm talking about _that_ plan. The one where we get up and book it on a road trip, un!"

"You have ten seconds to hang up before I wring you."

Hidan pushes the covers to the side and swings his legs over the bed. He puts on his slippers and shuffles to his mini-fridge, grabbing a water and drowning it. He was pissed at Deidara for waking him up so early, but they both knew Hidan wouldn't actually do anything about it. Deidara knows all too well that Hidan is full of empty threats. When he remembered their plan from the past, he knew Hidan was the first person he would go to. It was contacting the _other_ person that worried him.

"Okay, no, just think about it, we've been saving for so long, yeah? We've been dreaming about this since we were little," Deidara screams, again, with even more enthusiasm as the last time.

"I'm not calling Itachi, if that's what you wanted."

There's a moment of silence.

" _Please_ , I'm begging you Hidan, I'm _begging_ you! You know how angry he gets if he gets bothered early in the morning!"

" _Anyone_ would be pissed if they were woken up at four in the fuckin' morning. _I'm_ pissed, very pissed by the way, if you didn't know, that you woke me up at four in the fuckin' morning," Hidan argues, diving back into his comfortable and oh so welcoming bed. 

"I'll literally do anything you want, I swear. On Jashin, Hidan! On Jashin!" Deidara begs.

"You owe me you piece of shit."

Hidan sets his alarm for five and tries hyping himself up to call Itachi.

It's a process, trying to get enough balls to call him. Hidan's called Itachi many times before, even as recently as the previous day. But, those were in the acceptable times of calling hours. The hours where people are awake and bustling. The hours where people _aren't_ sleeping. And Itachi, Hidan knows from personal experience, is not a very joyful man when his precious beauty sleep gets interrupted. He already has issues with sleeping as it is. Unfortunately, Deidara had insisted that Hidan would be the one to carry out the 'mission.' They've all been friends for years, since they were in grade school. They all had the same fourth grade teacher, and Itachi had always been the one to keep Deidara and Hidan in check.

Since then, they've stuck together like glue. Same middle school, save for the one year Deidara had to do online schooling; he almost blew up the school bathroom with a clay figure he made. Besides that, they went through all the highs and lows of high school together. A _copious_ amount of lows. Deidara had dated a boy named Sasori in his senior year. Big mistake. Hidan and Itachi were there to pick up the pieces, helping him rebuild. Hidan remembers every moment, fond or not, keeping them all close to his heart. No, he didn't develop feelings for either Itachi or Deidara. At all. 

It's terrifying, but Hidan is able to muster enough courage to click the call button. He presses the speaker and throws the phone in the spot next to him, praying silently that Itachi will sleep through the ringtone. He's really banking on the fact that Itachi won't pick up muttering some type of cryptic bullshit at him that'll curse him for the rest of his life.

It's a shame he had any hopes at all.

Itachi picks up after the third ring. There's a minute of silence before Hidan remembers he has to relay the information.

"So, uh, listen, sorry about calling you this early n' all, but Deidara called me a bit ago, which is bullshit by the way, because who the fuck decides to call someone at four a.m. screaming into the phone-" Hidan rants, sucking in a breath when he gets cut off.

"Hidan, you have thirty seconds to tell me exactly why you bothered to call me so early when I'm clearly still sleeping." Itachi's words are cold and devoid of any emotion. Hidan swears that once he sees Deidara in person he's going to kick his ass for making him go through such a scary experience. He's sweating with how many nerves he has. He sincerely hopes he's able to explain everything in the time he's given. Hidan doesn't want to find out what would happen if he fails.

His words shoot out of his mouth at lightning speed.

"Deidara called me up sayin' that he wants to finally 'go on that road trip' or some shit like that. He basically told me he wants to take that random ass road trip with no destination. The one we used to talk about when we were kids. I don't know why he chose now of all times to do it but he claims we've all been saving up and he practically _forced_ me me to call you since he's too scared of you when you wake up in the morning," Hidan says, out of breath.

"I see," Itachi replies. Hidan holds his breath, waiting for his impending death to come to him, but nothing happens. Instead, Itachi speaks up again.

"I'll be over your place in thirty minutes."

Hidan's mouth hangs open as the call ends. He runs to his closet, grabbing a suitcase.

He's running on borrowed time. Hidan throws various clothes into a pile. He sorts through them, making a pile for the clothes he's going to take, and the clothes he's going to trash. Once he's done throwing the clothes into the suitcase, he doesn't bother to fold them, because what's the point of folding clothes for a trip when they're going to get messed up anyways. He sprints to the bathroom and figures he'll just buy things on the way.

There's a knock on his door just as he finishes shoving his hair gel into a random pocket of the suitcase.

Hidan swings open the door and grins. Running around gives him adrenaline.

"Yo!" Hidan yells as Itachi steps into the apartment.

"Hey, Hidan," Itachi speaks calmly. He walks over to the small couch Hidan has and sits himself down. Hidan scurries to get his suitcase and backpack, making sure to pack anything extra he might need. _Charger? Check. Phone? Check. Dumbass Totoro plushie that Deidara got him for his birthday last year? Check._

Hidan knew that Itachi wasn't impatient, but he wanted to make sure to take as less time as possible. He goes back into the living room where Itachi is still sitting, scrolling on his phone. He drags his suitcase and backpack towards Itachi, stopping and standing right in front of him.

"Okay," Hidan sighs, "let's go to Deidara's place." Itachi only nods and they both make their way to the parking garage. 

As they're driving to Deidara's apartment, Hidan makes small talk with Itachi. 

"Usually I wouldn't take you as the type to actually go along with this," Hidan chuckles. Itachi only shrugs, mentioning that they 'didn't have anything to do anyways,' and that he 'was already up.' They make a left turn into Deidara's parking garage. Itachi's suitcase and backpack is already in the trunk. Hidan wonders if the inside of Itachi's suitcase is just as messy as his. They don't need to search long to find a decent parking spot, leaving their belongings in the car. Itachi's car is spacious enough to stuff everyone's suitcases in without there being a struggle.

After riding up the elevator to the fourth floor, they reach Deidara's apartment door. Hidan bangs on it with the force to wake up the whole hallway. Itachi merely slaps his hand away and glares at him, knocking more quietly. Deidara opens it a few seconds later, ushering them both in. Hidan makes sure to turn around to punch Deidara on the arm, hard, after he closes the door. He's still very much pissed for being woken up at the ass crack of dawn. Deidara yells a string of curses at him and jumps on his back, in an attempt to make him fall, but all Hidan can do is laugh until his stomach hurts. 

Hidan and Itachi plop down on Deidara's bed, waiting for Deidara to finish up his long process of packing.

"Why the hell do you have to bring so much shit, dumbass?" Hidan groans, laying stomach up on Deidara's bed. The light is too bright for his eyes, so he turns onto his side and comes face to face with Itachi.

"He's right, you know. Could you hurry it up please?" Itachi agrees.

"Come on, guys, we have so much time," Deidara whines, stuffing face wash into the inner pocket of his overly large suitcase, "it's summer! We have all the time in the world, and I need to bring all the necessities with me!"

Hidan groans again, planting his face into the mattress. Itachi only rolls his eyes, muttering something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like a curse.

Once Deidara gets finished packing, which is a whole thirty minutes later, Itachi and Hidan help him drag his suitcase and bags to the car. There's still a lot of room to move around in the back, despite all the bags that had to be put there because the trunk was full. Deidara get's shunned to the backseat, clearly not being on either Hidan or Itachi's good side. Itachi offers to drive first, explaining how they'll switch out every few hours so no one gets overly tired. There's still one problem that needs to be discussed.

"Where the hell are we goin'?" Hidan chides, looking back at Deidara, "we don't have a plan."

"We don't _need_ a plan, headass, it's supposed to be a spontaneous road trip. Spontaneous, hn!"

Itachi pipes up as Hidan is getting his comeback ready.

"Why don't we bring up a random generator and one of you clicks it. Wherever it says, we'll go. Airport or not."

"Oh my god, 'tachi, you're a _genius_!" Deidara gasps, bringing up a website on his phone.

They let Itachi pick, since he came up with the idea. He closes his eyes and brings his finger towards the screen, lightly tapping it. Hidan's laughter rings throughout the car, and Deidara follows suit. Itachi opens his eyes, confused, until he sees the screen.

 _Ohio_.

"What the _fuck_ is Ohio? It's like, trees and dirt roads, yeah?" Deidara wheezes, slapping the back of Hidan's seat.

"Wow, how the hell did you bring us so much bad luck!" Hidan adds, clutching his stomach in an attempt to stop laughing.

"There's Cedar Point, but we could always choose somewhere else if you want." Itachi says, raising an eyebrow, a small smile on his lips. He knows that's going to convince the other two.

"Wait, shit, oh my Jashin, you're right! There's a whole ass amusement park! Go! Start driving let's get moving, let's go, I want to ride a roller coaster!" Hidan yells, poking Itachi and patting the steering wheel. Itachi gently takes Hidan's hand off his side and sets it down.

"We need the directions first, boys. I don't know where I'm going and we live all the way in California." Itachi says calmly. Hidan pulls up the directions on his phone and they stop to fill the gas up. It's around six in the morning, so if they time it right with all the stops they'll be making, it'll take three to four days to reach Ohio.

Hidan hands Deidara the aux cord, telling him sternly not to play anything that's going to get him punched. Itachi follows the GPS that's linked to the car from Hidan's phone, and they're driving. Hidan rolls down the window and leans his chair back. Though the three of them are an interesting and oddball combination, Hidan can't help but feel the rush of excitement. He looks over and momentarily thinks about tucking a piece of Itachi's stray hair behind his ear.

Woah what the _fuck_. What the _fuck_. Hidan mentally slaps himself and pretends he didn't just have that thought.

Their random as shit road trip is finally underway.

Deidara starts off by playing Paramore. Hidan asks Itachi to swerve off the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's almost 3 am and i think i'm manifesting something dangerous


	2. Rest Stop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hidan has a bit of a dilemma. No, it's not the fact he needs to pee really badly. Deidara is just trying to make it through the road trip without being punched. Itachi wants to drive the car into any source of water he finds.
> 
> Or, the boys pick an overnight destination, and Hidan tries not to have a stroke.

Three hours into their road trip and Hidan asks for a pee break. Itachi asks him just how badly he needs to go, to which Hidan snorts and tells him he can wait. Five more minutes pass by.

He can't wait.

"Are there any rest stops comin' up, 'tachi? I may have overshot my skills to hold it in," Hidan confesses, his hands flying back to wrap around his headrest. He hears Deidara make a disgusted noise.

"What the fuck was that for, headass?"

"Your nails are _nasty_ , Hidan. I need to help you sometime so they don't look like," Deidara pauses, putting an over dramatic glare on his face, "that."

Hidan reaches around to throttle Deidara, about to unbuckle his seat belt, when he feels a hand on his wrist. Itachi's eyes are still focused on the road when he speaks.

"Can you wait to kill him until we stop, please? We're coming up to a rest stop now." The cars slows down slightly enough to pull into the parking lot. It has a hiking trail, along with the bathrooms and vending machines. They decide to stay for a bit and stretch.

Once they park, Hidan is rushing out of the car and running towards the mens' bathroom. He can hear Deidara's laugh behind him.

Yeah, he needs to figure out _that_ problem too.

As he's going to the bathroom, he thinks about his floating feelings. Sure, he may have had a thing for both Deidara and Itachi way back then, but he thought he was over it by now. They're friends, nothing more. Just really good friends who he's now forced to spend Jashin knows how long with. It's a recipe for disaster, not just for their lives, because Hidan knows his driving is a bit sporadic, but for his feelings too. He's gotten so used to pushing them down and ignoring them. He knows full well Deidara and Itachi only see him as their best friend, and that's how he intends to keep it.

Hidan exits the bathroom, going back out to where Itachi's car is parked. He see's that Deidara is at the vending machines, and Itachi is scrolling through his phone. He opts to go back into the car, not really feeling the need for any snacks and definitely not another drink. He climbs into the passenger seat and throws himself onto Itachi, feigning sadness.

"Hey, 'tachi, let's go on a little hike or somethin', you need to fuckin' stretch too," Hidan says with a grin.

Itachi complies and opens his car door, shoving Hidan off of him. Deidara is in the process of running back with an armful of snacks. Dumbass. He runs up toward Hidan and Itachi, shoving his snacks towards them.

"Guys, look at my finest new purchase," Deidara says proudly.

"You're so full of shit," Hidan responds. He can hear Itachi snort behind him, and they all decide to go and sit on one the picnic tables out in the field.

Deidara had gotten an array of junk food that probably disgraces the word "lunch," but they couldn't do too much about it. Deidara takes one of the candy bars. Itachi snatches up the energy drink, finishing half of it in under a minute. Deidara cracks a joke, and Itachi chokes on his drink, spitting some of it out onto the grass. 

"You're an ass," Itachi says as he's wiping his mouth. Hidan's dying on the side, almost rolling off the bench from the force of his laughing.

They talk about expenses, how much they're willing to spend and whatnot. Despite how frequently it seems he orders take out, Hidan's been saving up for quite some time now. Maybe not for this particular road trip, but in general just in case something came up. Deidara's been working as a freelance artist for some time now. He's got his own shop and everything, as well as commissions on clay sculptures. He's been gaining more traction lately, so he's making _bank_. Itachi took up the free spot at the library. Cataloging, shelving, sorting, the whole deal. Itachi doesn't admit it, but Hidan and Deidara both know the library pays Itachi well. _Very_ well. 

"That's what I forgot, hn! I wanna go to Reno City when we pass through Nevada! It's only another hour or so away from us! We can even go to Lake Tahoe which is pretty close too!" Deidara rambles.

"Reno City, huh. What do you think, 'tachi?" Hidan teases.

"Whatever is fine with me. Reno City it is," Itachi replies, pausing to look Deidara straight in the eye, "but if you decide to throw up in my car because you decide to eat another candy bar, you're hitchhiking."

"I got it under control, yeah," Deidara laughs.

They stay at the rest stop for a little while longer before deciding to leave. Once they pile back into the car it's a straight shot, all of them deciding to not take any more stops until they reach the city. There's music, shitty music, in Hidan's opinion, courtesy of Deidara. Itachi's driving becomes slightly unsteady, and Hidan thinks this might be the moment he finally snaps. 

"Please would you turn off that horrendous music and talk instead?" Itachi's tired voice pleads.

"Wow, it's really shit on Deidara day, huh. Fine, I'll turn off the music, but now you have to sit through my story about how the dude I was talking to wanted to sculpt clay with me as a first date! How adorable is that, yeah?" Deidara continues.

Hidan tries keeping himself composed. He has no reason to be uncomfortable with the fact that Deidara is rambling on how cute his new crush is. He already had this talk with himself in the bathroom. No feelings whatsoever. Hidan's in the middle of mentally scolding himself when he looks over and sees Itachi's face. There's an obvious level of discomfort showing on his features. Hidan freezes and registers what he just saw. Itachi couldn't be jealous, could he? No, he just doesn't want to hear about Deidara's love life, that's all. Hidan shoves those thoughts into the back of his brain once again. He tunes out Deidara's story, only occasionally responding with 'yeah' or 'mm' to make it seem like he's listening. Hidan glances over at Itachi's face again, and it's back to the blank look he always has.

Hidan tells himself he's not going to question it, and the rest of the ride goes by without any major obstacles.

The hotel is a problem. With their trip being spontaneous and completely out of the blue, nothing was pre-planned. No reservations for any hotels or attractions. 

"Right so, how are we gonna do the hotel? We're like ten minutes away from Reno and we should explore the city instead of leaving so suddenly! Even if it's just one night," Deidara suggests, fingers tapping away on his phone in an attempt to look up a hotel.

"I really don't want to spend a shit ton of money on somethin' we're just gonna be staying in for a night, so let's just find a motel and call it a night," Hidan drawls, searching up places of his own.

They decide on Vagabond Inn. Hidan see's it right away and runs with it. It's a motel, so it shouldn't be too expensive. They drive the remaining minutes in comfortable silence, finally pulling into the parking lot for the inn. Hidan says he'll pay this time, and that they can take turns with the payments each time they stop. He gets out of the car and says he'll be back with the key card. He needs to stretch anyways.

Once he gets to the receptionist at the lobby, he asks for the cheapest room.

"Of course sir, we actually have a room that has-"

"I don't need all the specifics. I'll take it," Hidan says, giving her his card to swipe. She runs it through and hands him the key card after going through some of the rules. They need to be out by at least ten in the morning, which doesn't sit right with Hidan at fucking _all_. That's not enough time to sleep in, and he knows they'll probably be out exploring the city until late at night. He'll take what he can get though. They have a place to crash and that's all there is to it. He exits the inn, approaching Itachi's parked car with the key card between his fingers, holding it up. He can see Itachi smile and Deidara whoop. He grins back.

They take their suitcases with them, along with their backpacks. They want to sit down for a bit and get their energy back up. There's also the topic of lunch, since it's past eleven. Hidan's stomach growls as he's walking to their room. They have the upper floor, and Hidan struggles to make it up halfway before he gets a stomach ache. The water he drank in the morning must have been rigged or something.

Hidan swipes the card into the lock, and they hear a click. Upon pushing the door open, Hidan see's that he might have made a little mistake. He asked for one of the cheapest available rooms they had. He didn't expect there to only be a king bed. One king bed.

 _How fuckin' cliche_ , Hidan thinks to himself, avoiding saying anything about the one bed. He opts to jump onto it instead, spreading his arms and legs out. Deidara screeches.

"Get off the bed, you're so nasty! I know you didn't shower and we're all sweaty," Deidara screams, grabbing Hidan's wrist, attempting to pull him up. Itachi sets his backpack on the table, sitting down on the couch. He's off of it in an instant. His hands swipe over his legs in panic.

"What the fuck was that!" Itachi shouts.

"What, what did you see?" Deidara cries, his own panic setting in. Itachi rarely swears, and it has both Hidan and Deidara pausing.

"There was a bug crawling on me!"

"Hidan, if you brought the roaches from your stupid fucking apartment and stuffed them into your suitcase, I'm killing you right here," Deidara says, punching Hidan's stomach. Deidara had tried pulling him off the bed, but luckily Hidan was able to hold himself down.

"My apartment isn't _that_ dirty, jackass!" 

Deidara begs Itachi to take care of the bug. He stands on the bed to make sure nothing attacks him, Hidan still laying down right next to his feet. It ended up being what Deidara feared most, a cockroach. Itachi was able to take care of it with ease, disposing it in the trashcan.

"Y'know I would go to the front desk to complain, but the room s' already paid for," Hidan complains. 

"I'm sure we can deal with it for just one night, right Deidara?" Itachi asks.

"I'm taking the first shower then."

While Deidara is showering, Itachi and Hidan look through the rest of the room to see if there's anymore problems. It seems that everything else is fine and it might have just been a fluke that the cockroach was there. All three of them refused to take the couch, in worry that there might be more things hiding in between the cushions. This isn't working in Hidan's favor at _all_. He was praying that one person could take the couch, and the other two could take the king sized bed. Now they were contemplating cramming into the king. Hidan figures he's going to drop dead from the way his heart keeps beating.

Deidara takes forty minutes to shower.

"What the hell are you doing in there?" Hidan screams, pounding on the closed door. Itachi let's out a sigh from the chair he's sitting on.

"I need to make sure my hair is properly washed, yeah!" Deidara argues back.

"You have five more _fucking_ minutes before I break the door down. You wanted to sight see, right? That ain't gonna happen unless we get out of here!"

He hears Deidara huff. Five minutes pass and they can hear the shower shutting off. Deidara spends ten more minutes in the bathroom 'touching up,' Hidan's fist getting tired from the amount of times he's been banging on the door. Itachi tells Hidan that he can have the next turn. Hidan doesn't put up a fight and thanks Itachi for letting him go next. The hot water must be long gone by now. Damn Deidara.

Hidan only spends the bare minimum time in the shower. He's out in less than fifteen minutes, dressed in a clean outfit. Itachi takes his turn next, also following Hidan in not taking a shit ton of time to wash up. Hidan's in the middle of drying his hair with a towel when Deidara taps on his shoulder.

"Can I do your hair, hm?" Deidara asks, brush in hand. Hidan only raises an eyebrow, but goes to sit on one of the chairs. 

He feels the brush go through his hair, and he closes his eyes. He's not trying to fall asleep, but the possibility is tempting. Deidara gets all of the knots out, taking the top section of Hidan's hair and brushing it back. Some of his hair is still down, but he feels a hair tie wrap around the hair Deidara had pulled back. There's still hair framing his face, and when Hidan looks in the mirror, he smiles. He looks _hot_.

"Thanks for that, dei, I look fuckin' fantastic," Hidan marvels, turning his face around in the mirror to see different angles.

"I knew you would like it, hn."

Itachi opens the door and steps out, towel rubbing his head. Deidara and Itachi look over and take in the image in front of them. Itachi's [outfit](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8a/2a/b1/8a2ab1fe08e79dc49ab3bd54e537d869--dope-fashion-personal-style.jpg) is so simple, but it has them both reeling. It's so _Itachi_ that it's freaky. The way he wears the outfit screams confidence. His shirt had been tucked into his pants, showing off his waistline. Deidara's mouth is open in shock.

" _Shit_ , my man, you look _hot_ ," Deidara gawks.

"Uh, what he said," Hidan adds, looking away in embarrassment. He really didn't need Itachi to look this good right now. It was doing things to his mental state. Plus, to make matters worse, he looks like a bum standing next to Itachi in sweatpants and an old t-shirt. Even Deidara looks slightly better than him, his jeans looking stylish though they were worn, as well as a white shirt tucked into his pants.

This is a disaster for any ounce of hope Hidan had left to compress his feelings.

"Well I look fuckin' stupid," Hidan says, sticking his hands into his pockets.

"You're such a liar, you look good!" Deidara responds. Hidan's head perks up, and he can see that Itachi is nodding, agreeing with Deidara's words.

Hidan mumbles a 'thank you' before sitting on the edge of the bed, playing a game on his phone. Deidara offers to fix up Itachi's hair as well, doing the same style he did with Hidan, except he gives Itachi a middle part and let's his bangs free. It ups Itachi's look even more, and Hidan finds himself slightly jealous.

Deidara's hair was already put into a bun, so after Itachi's hair is done, they grab their backpacks and go. Deidara reminds them to pack something to swim in. But before any other trips, it's lunch time first.

It's still fairly early, the time only being two. Hidan suggests McDonald's, being an easy to eat spot. Deidara and Itachi have no complaints as they chow down on their food in the car after going through the drive through. Itachi parks in the lot so they have time to eat. The conversation flows smoothly, and lulls into another comfortable silence. Hidan stuffs his whole ten piece nugget meal into his mouth, savoring every single bite. 

"Are we ever going to see the return of the _fun_ Itachi? You're so calm now, yeah?"

"I still remember senior year Itachi. He was a fuckin' menace. Where was that energy stored, 'tachi?"

Itachi rolls his eyes, but plays along.

"I guess it's stored in a place even I don't know. Maybe he'll come back one day."

"Listening to you refer to yourself as 'he' kinda scares me, if I'm being honest," Deidara laughs. Itachi lets out a small chuckle, and Hidan grins.

"Well, I guess it's our goal now, dei. We need to bring out all of that energy in 'tachi that he's been hidin' from us."

"Sounds like a plan, hm!"

They settle on going to Lake Tahoe so they can hike and sight see. Deidara claims that if they run out of things to do or get bored, he'll find something they can do. It's only roughly an hour from their hotel. The car ride there is full of arguments on which trail to take first.

"Rainbow trail," Deidara states.

"Eagle Falls," Hidan argues.

"Rainbow. Trail."

"Itachi!" they both scream, "where should we go?"

He sighs, "I really don't care guys, it's already in the late afternoon and you wanted to sight see the city too, right?"

"Fine, we can go to Eagle Falls, hm," Deidara reluctantly agrees after Hidan shows him some pictures.

They made sure to stop and get water beforehand, just in case the heat became too much. The trail was easy to go through, but Deidara stopped every minute to snap another picture. Itachi was taking some of his own of the trees. Seeing them take pictures for memories had Hidan pulling out his own phone to snap a few photos of the sky. Soon enough though, as they imagined, the heat started getting annoying.

"We're almost there, guys! But 'tachi, how are you not sweating in that? That's definitely not a hiking out fit," Deidara quips, taking in Itachi's fully black outfit.

"I actually am sweating. A lot. You just can't see it on my face," 

"What the hell, how did you get such good genes? I look fuckin' drenched right now," Hidan complains, looking at his face through his camera.

They get to the waterfall soon after, hearing the water crash down on the rocks. There's a bridge to overlook not only the waterfall, but part of the forest. Hidan didn't realize how high up they actually were. Aside from a few people passing by, the area seemed more empty than usual. Hidan figured it was the heat that kept people away from the hiking trails. Everyone probably flocked to the beaches and bars.

"We should go swimming, yeah."

Itachi nods and Hidan puts his thumbs up. They follow the falls all the way down to a little river clearing. There's no one else around and they have a fantastic view.

"Is this legal?" Itachi asks, looking hesitant to change into his swimwear.

"Um, wouldn't hurt to take a dip either way, right?" Hidan shoots back.

If it was private property, as long as they don't get caught, it's good enough.

Itachi folds up his clothes along with Deidara, while Hidan just throws his over his backpack. They're changing into their swimming trunks when Deidara shouts.

"Hidan, Itachi, you're _ripped_ , what the fuck!"

Hidan laughs at the random compliment.

"You don't look bad either," Itachi voice rings out. Deidara's eyes go wide before he flushes.

"Thanks, yeah. Let's _go_!" Deidara says, plunging into the river. He comes up a second later, smile wide as he puts his thumbs up.

Hidan follows after him, whooping as he hits the water. It's cold and refreshing. They look over at Itachi, who still looks hesitant to come into the water. For a second, it looks like Itachi's going to chicken out, stepping back on the rocks slightly. They aren't going to have that. Hidan looks over at Deidara, who doesn't even need to be told, and nods. They both make their way out of the water and towards Itachi. Itachi's eyes go wide in panic.

"No, no guys don't," Itachi rushes to say, taking more steps back.

"Nope, you're comin' in whether you like it or not."

Hidan and Deidara catch up to Itachi, who looks like a deer in headlights. Hidan grabs his left hand while Deidara takes his right. Itachi leans backwards, trying to get his feet to dig into the ground. It's two against one though, and they're able to overpower him easily. They take off running towards the river, counting down.

"Three!"

"Guys wait!"

"Two!"

"Shit!"

They jump, their fingers intertwined with Itachi's. Hidan's never felt happier in his life, and as they're in the air, he looks over and sees that Deidara is staring back at him and Itachi with fond eyes. Itachi's eyes are squeezed shut, but there's a grin on his face despite the panic.

They splash into the water, hands still joined together. Deidara laughs when they come up, and Hidan feels his free hand being grabbed. Deidara holds up both his hands, taking Itachi and Hidan's arms up as well. Hidan brings up his other hand, making all of their arms go up into the air. 

"That, was. Awesome!"

Hidan doesn't want to let go, but knows eventually he has to. Once their hands drop, they come apart. Hidan swears that he sees a look of disappointment on Itachi and Deidara's faces, but he brushes it off. They spend a little while longer swimming in the lake, splashing each other with water and having contests on who can hold their breath the longest. Itachi wins, as always.

Soon enough they see that the sun is lining the tops of the trees. Hidan gets out to check the time and whistles when he sees how long they spent in the river.

"It's almost six."

"Damn, how long were we in here?" Deidara asks.

"Almost two hours I think?"

Itachi gets out next, and Deidara is the last one to get out. He shivers from the slight breeze, then stops in shock.

"We forgot the fucking towels, hn."

They put on their socks and shoes, tucking their clothes into their backpacks.

"Let's race," Itachi suggests, "It'll help dry us off quicker. Last one to the car pays for dinner."

Hidan's already taking off before Itachi says 'dinner,' dashing up the sloped hill and back onto the path.

"No fair, you cheater! We didn't even say 'go,' yeah!" Deidara blurts, feet hitting the ground in a run to follow Hidan. Itachi races past him, dodging every foothole and rock with ease. He looks like a ninja, a really graceful one. Deidara can't help but feel envy as he sees how easily Itachi flies up the mountain and onto the path, passing Hidan.

"He must be the golden child or somethin'!" 

"You got that right, un!"

They're partially dried off by the time they get back to the car. Hidan's sweating again, and Deidara's not too far behind. Itachi had arrived almost five minutes before either of them, leaning on the hood of the car. Like a showoff.

"So he _can_ sweat!" Hidan muses.

Hidan looks over at Deidara, who's trying to catch his breath. Deidara looks like he's staring hard, almost _too_ hard. Hidan looks away quickly. 

They pile into the car again, deciding to change once they get back to the motel. It's nearing seven when they get back, the sun starting to set in pretty shades of pink and red. Deidara tells Itachi that he can take the next driving shift, and heads for the shower again. He's stopped by both Itachi and Hidan. They tell him he's going to go last since he used up all the hot water last time. Pouting but agreeing, Deidara goes to sit on one of the chairs. He tells them he's going to look for things they can do at night in the city.

After the three of them take their showers, they try and decide what to do next.

Deidara's wringing out his hair when he says, "Why don't we just go to a nice dinner while sightseeing then come back and crash, hm?"

"You think I have clothes for a nice dinner?" Hidan bickers.

"We're kinda the same size, just borrow some of mine! I packed plenty!"

"It's almost as if you planned for this," Itachi interjects, brushing his hair out.

"You know I did."

They eat at a restaurant that Itachi picks out. It's not overly fancy, but nice enough to the point where Hidan has to put on Deidara's jeans. They try to stay respectful of the other diners, but once in a while Hidan will say something way too loud for comfort, and they get dirty looks. It's filling though, and they're all full by the time they pay. Deidara's treat, courtesy of him losing the race. Itachi went for the bill anyways despite winning, but Deidara had insisted. Hidan finds himself appreciating every little moment he shares with them. But he can't be a simp, so he doesn't mention it.

Now it's the _issue_. After sightseeing some of the shops along the streets and taking pictures of funny things they find, they head back into their room. It's well past one in the morning, and Hidan's sure he's delirious. He keeps spouting nonsense as they go up the stairs into their shared room.

"Yo, guys, how is this supposed to fuckin' work?"

"I'm sure we could all squeeze in, yeah? It's a king after all."

Itachi nods, adding, "We used to do it all the time when we were little kids, it's no big deal."

It is a big deal, especially for Hidan, but he goes along with it. He wouldn't want to sleep on the floor when Jashin knows what could be crawling around. They change into their sleepwear.

"I call middle! I don't know what the hell could be in this room," Deidara says, climbing into the middle of the bed and tucking himself nose deep into the covers.

"Whatever," Itachi says, going to Deidara's right and burying himself in the covers.

"Guess I'll uh, take the left."

Hidan flips off the lights before blindly reaching out to find the bed. He goes over to Deidara's left side, feeling the covers for an empty space.

"That's my foot, yeah."

Hidan can hear Itachi softly laugh, adding along to Deidara's. It's nice. 

Once Hidan goes under the covers and once his head hits the pillow, he's out. He's always been a heavy sleeper, so hopefully Deidara's kicking habits won't come back to bite him in the ass. Itachi sets his alarm for seven, making sure to be as quiet as possible. He knows the other two already fell asleep, and he wants to make sure they get up in the morning. He can be their alarm clock. He turns away from from the two after he looks at their sleeping forms, sighing in content to himself.

"Good night," he says, closing his own eyes and falling into his own sleep.

The painful alarm wakes them up in the morning. Deidara turns onto his back and buries his head into the covers. Itachi and Hidan shift, feeling something touching them. Deidara's legs are sprawled across the bed, over them. Hidan had turned onto his stomach, arm draping across Deidara's back. Itachi finds that even he turned back towards the other two, arm also draped around Deidara's back, his hand over Hidan's forearm. The blanket is screwed up, and the alarm is set to snooze. Hidan freaks out momentarily after making eye contact with Itachi. He moves to take his hand off of Deidara's back and Itachi's hand, but Itachi grabs his wrist.

"Five more minutes," Itachi says groggily, a small smile on his face. Hidan flushes, but closes his eyes.

He really is going to die before the trip is over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter two and i still don't know what i'm doing or what's happening but hey it's longer


	3. Simp City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hidan and Itachi get their fingernails painted. More domestic moments.
> 
> It seems like Hidan isn't the only one suppressing feelings. There's some simpage leaking out. A lot of it. Maybe a bit of sadness, but we won't worry about that too much.

Hidan wakes up with a thud. The alarm is blaring into his ear. It takes him a minute to realize that he fell off the bed, and is now crumpled on the floor. He doesn't make a move to get up though, hearing someone shift again. Probably Itachi, going to turn off the alarm for good. Someone get's off the bed, and he can hear Deidara groan.

"Five more minutes, yeah?" he mumbles.

"As much as I'd like to, we said that thirty minutes ago, we're supposed to be out by ten," Itachi says.

Hidan finally drags himself up off of the floor, making a mental note to take one more shower before they leave. He looks over at the lump on the bed, seeing Deidara attempt to go back to sleep. It's almost eight, and he knows Deidara will want to spend some time getting ready. He walks over to Itachi and whispers something into his ear. Itachi blinks once and nods, getting into position on one side of Deidara after turning the light on. Hidan takes the other side and looks at Itachi while he counts down his fingers from three.

The covers are torn off, and Deidara scrambles to find them again. He turns and buries his face into his pillow, trying to escape the light. Hidan grabs Deidara's legs, dragging him slowly off of the bed. Deidara tries gripping onto the sheets, but his hands keep slipping off. He starts wailing.

"Okay, okay, I'm up, _I'm up_ , hm," Deidara whines, sitting when Hidan finally lets go.

"Alright, good, now I'm gonna take first shower," Hidan declares, running into the bathroom.

"No fair!" he hears behind him.

Hidan thinks that this is the quickest they've gotten ready so far. Deidara actually spends a normal amount of time in the shower and comes out to pack his things. Since they didn't take too much out, it's fairly easy to get their spare clothes and washes back into their suitcases. Hidan had used Itachi and Deidara's bathroom products, and he figures that's going to be normal from now on. If they need any more toiletries they can just stop at a store.

They're out by nine-thirty. Hidan hands the receptionist their key card, and they're able to check out without a hitch. Deidara offers to drive this time, and Hidan goes to the backseat. It's a rotation. He has more room in the back to stretch, and they're off again. They agreed to try and get through Nevada before stopping anywhere else. They have a main goal, after all. It should take them about eight hours, with all the stops included, Hidan suggesting he and Deidara switch at the halfway point. They get gas before leaving the city.

Hidan decides to take a short nap while they're driving. Itachi is in charge of the aux this time, and leave it to him to play something that makes Hidan's eyelids drop. He plays soft lo-fi as Hidan falls asleep again. He's knocked out for a while.

"So, 'tachi, have you been seeing anyone recently? Talking to anyone?" Deidara teases, eyes briefly dashing towards Itachi. 

Itachi has a slight blush on his cheeks, "Well, no, not really."

"You're a total catch, hn! I can't see why you haven't been snatched up yet. The people of California must be on some heavy shit if they don't see you," Deidara says, his compliment going through Itachi's ears multiple times. 

"Thanks, dei, it means a lot."

Deidara only smiles.

"Can you check on Hidan? He's been really quiet," Deidara asks.

Itachi looks behind him to see that Hidan's fast asleep. His head is rolled over to one side of the car and his arms are wrapped around himself. Itachi turns down the air slightly and checks the weather. It's supposed to be way colder than what they're used to, so Itachi unbuckles his seat belt and reaches for one of the bags at Hidan's feet. He pulls out a small blanket and crawls halfway to reach Hidan easier. Deidara tells him to be careful, and Itachi almost falls down onto the backseat from some idiot cutting them off on the freeway. Luckily, Deidara's hand is gripping the back of his shirt to keep him steady. Itachi lays the blanket over Hidan and tucks it in behind his shoulders so it doesn't fall off. Itachi's back in his seat, buckling up again.

"He looks cute," Itachi muses.

"He always does," Deidara adds.

Deidara allows himself to focus on driving, listening to the soft music playing in the background. None of them were hungry when they got up, so they chose to wait until lunch to get food. Itachi leans his chair back slightly and closes his eyes. He doesn't think he'll fall asleep, but he wants to be calm for a bit. It's all been rush since they've embarked on their trip, so some peace would be appreciated.

It was weird, his feelings. He hadn't really thought much about any romantic aspect of his life. He already thought he had everything he could need. Close _friends_ , a good job that kept him happy, and comfortable living space. What more could he want? He's had some conflicting feelings in the past, but he figured those feelings were a side effect of growing up and learning about crushes. _It's nothing to dwell on right now_ , Itachi thinks.

Hidan's snoring cuts off his train of thought, and his peace. 

"Oh my god," Deidara snorts, grip tightening on the steering wheel to keep himself from swerving.

"I won't be able to deal with it for more than five minutes," Itachi sighs, looking back at Hidan. There's a small trail of drool coming from Hidan's mouth. Itachi grabs a tissue from the center console and reaches his arm out to hit Hidan's leg. Hidan stirs and his eyes open slightly.

"Huh?" Hidan says, looking at the tissue Itachi is holding in front of him.

"Please wipe your mouth before it gets on the blanket. And if you could try, keep the snoring to a minimum," Itachi says, keeping his eyes trained on the road in front of him.

"Sorry about that," Hidan says in embarrassment. 

Itachi only shakes his head. Hidan's up now, though his nap was short-lived. Two hours pass in silence, except for the numerous times Hidan tries showing Itachi something funny he finds on his phone. Itachi switches the music to something more lively. Deidara hums along to the songs, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. 

"We really should get something to eat," Itachi says. Deidara nods and Hidan agrees.

They take an exit and roll up into a small town. There are fast food places right away, so they turn into the first one they see. They're not too picky, so Burger King is fine. Once they get their food they park and eat quickly. Deidara wants to get on the road as soon as possible, so he eats the quickest, putting his trash into a plastic bag they brought along. He tells Itachi and Hidan to keep eating, and they're back on the freeway. Two more hours pass and soon enough it's Hidan's turn to drive. Deidara pulls into the nearest rest stop. They dispose of the plastic bag, and they all go into the bathroom. 

Hidan is leaning on the car when Itachi and Deidara come back from the vending machine with ice cream. 

"How about you, Hidan. Anyone special in your life, hm?" Deidara smirks at him.

This isn't good.

"I've tried things out with a few people but it never seemed to work out," Hidan says, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What the hell is it with people not wanting to jump on you guys, hm!" Deidara exclaims.

"...What?" Hidan asks.

"I was talking to 'tachi earlier and he said he wasn't with anyone either. I _know_ it's not your personalities, though in that case, you, Hidan, might have a problem. But other than that you guys are perfect!" Deidara rambles. Hidan's face heats up, and he sees Itachi's do the same. Deidara doesn't hold back with the compliments.

"Okay, okay, we get it, we're fuckin' hot, but the same goes for you, dei, haven't you been talkin' to that guy?" Deidara looks up at him, mouth open. He only smiles.

"Ah, that was a while ago, yeah. He hasn't made an effort to talk to me, so I gave up. Plus, I've had my eye on a few potential people," Deidara says, waving his hand in dismissal.

Hidan's heart drops.

"In any case, it's time to get back on the road. I wanna get to Salt Lake City soon, un."

They pile back in the car, Itachi in the back, Hidan at the wheel, and Deidara next to him. Hidan gets back onto the freeway and asks Deidara to play something loud to get his energy going. Deidara sighs but plays rock, just for Hidan. He's singing his lungs out while driving. Deidara covers his ears in mock disgust, and Itachi chuckles in the backseat. Not even an hour in and Deidara is leaning back to look at Itachi.

"How much room is in the backseat?" Deidara asks.

"More than I thought there would be," Itachi says, gesturing to the empty space next to him. 

"I'm gonna paint 'tachi's nails! Hopefully I don't die!" Deidara declares. Hidan looks over for a split second to see Deidara unbuckled, halfway into the backseat.

"Shit- don't just suddenly do that, you're gonna fuckin' die you dumbass!" Hidan yells.

Hidan hears a yelp as Deidara is pulled into the backseat with help from Itachi. Deidara wheezes as he leans on Itachi's side.

"Man, that was a rush! Now, what color do'ya want, 'tachi?"

"Whatever you think is best."

Deidara settles for a light lilac purple. He's confident in his abilities, though Itachi is wary on how well his nails will be painted with all the moving of the car. Deidara manages to pull it off beautifully. There were only slight mistakes, but besides that, his nails turn out perfect. It's a good color too. Itachi thinks it suits him well. He smiles slightly at Deidara, who looks away bashfully, putting his thumbs up. Hidan looks through the rearview mirror occasionally, seeing how much fun Itachi is having. He grins too, laughing about the way Deidara gets embarrassed easily. 

"I'll do your nails once we get to the city, yeah?"

Hidan nods. They only have three hours before they get to Salt Lake City. There are fewer cars on the freeway, so Hidan takes this opportunity to have some fun. He speeds up from sixty to almost eighty, flying by the occasional car. Deidara screams and Itachi holds onto the side of the car. Hidan weaves through some of the lanes in order to get past cars. Deidara grabs Itachi's arm, making sure his seat belt is secure. Hidan only gets faster and faster.

"You fucking lunatic, you're going to get us all killed!" Deidara howls. 

"I think I'm going to throw up," Itachi adds.

Hidan is full-on laughing, driving one-handed while his other hand grips his stomach.

"Don't fucking do that, you piece of shit, both hands on the wheel! Please put both hands on the wheel, hm! You're going to screw up Itachi's nails!"

"Alright, alright, I'll slow down," Hidan laughs, adding, "that was fuckin' fantastic!"

Deidara is panting heavily, trying to get his heart rate to slow down. He's still hanging onto Itachi, who is also still holding onto the side of the car. Itachi holds up one of his hands and finds that thankfully, none of the nail polish had been rubbed off or scratched. He shoots a glare at Hidan, making eye contact with him through the rearview mirror. 

"You should'a seen the look on your faces- I can't breathe- you looked like you were about to die!"

"'Cause we were, dipshit!"

Hidan only continues laughing, quickly looking through the rearview mirror in time to see Deidara lunging for him. He yelps, but keeps his eyes on the road. He's waiting for the inevitable punch to the head, but it never comes. Itachi is holding Deidara back, barely. The look of pure murder in Deidara's eyes is enough to keep Hidan at bay for the rest of their driving trip. Itachi tells them that he's going to pay for the next overnight hotel. He tells Hidan he's very adamant about it being a _hotel_ instead of a shady motel. He's willing to pay a bit of extra cash to assure there are no roaches crawling around under his pillow.

When they arrive in Salt Lake City, Itachi asks Hidan to drive straight to the hotel he picked out. It's a Holiday Inn- which Hidan can admit is a good choice. Not too expensive, but definitely not too shitty for bed bugs to be crawling around.

When Itachi comes back from checking in, he looks flushed. His cheeks are tinted red, and he's wearing a sheepish look on his face. Deidara and Hidan get out, unlocking the trunk to get their suitcases out.

"Everything good, 'tachi?" Hidan asks, taking in Itachi's expression.

"Yeah, I got us a room, that's fine. The lady just-" Itachi pauses, clearly embarrassed.

"The lady just what, hm?" Deidara says slyly, "did she try to hit on you?"

"No, she- she thought we were..."

"We were?" Deidara eggs on.

"She thought we were all dating and that we were on an anniversary trip," Itachi sighs, looking over at their reactions.

Deidara and Hidan shriek with laughter. Hidan bangs on the suitcase while Deidara almost falls on the ground. Their breathing is coming out in short bursts, making it sound like they're hyperventilating. 

"Just shut up and let's go," Itachi says, faking annoyance. He has a smile on his face though.

When they get into the lobby, the same receptionist that helped Itachi book their hotel room is there, typing away on her computer. She looks up for a moment and sees Itachi, then looks behind him to see Deidara and Hidan.

"Enjoy your room, boys," she says with a wink. Itachi turns red at her words. Deidara and Hidan snicker at each other before following Itachi into the hallway. Hidan makes sure to respond to her as they're going into the elevator.

"Thank you, miss! We will!" he shouts. Itachi hits him in the back.

The room, to everyone's relief, is much, _much_ better than the last one. There are no bugs, no shady stains on the ground, and no weird smells. Deidara dances around the room in happiness, clearly enjoying the fact that the shower won't have potential mold growing on it. There's a king bed in the middle of the room, with a small chair next to it. Itachi tells them that these were one of the cheapest rooms. After telling them the price, Hidan gawks. It's cheaper than the other shitty ass motel they stayed at the previous night. Hidan almost cries, getting dangerously close to throwing a fit.

"Can we just chill here tonight? We'll go out and get food but I don't know if I can bring myself to go on another expedition. Yesterday almost killed me," Itachi admits.

"Yeah, no problem, my man! I don't think I saw anything that interesting anyways, hm. Though when we do go out to pick up dinner is it okay if we get some boba?" Deidara asks, getting new clothes out of his suitcase.

"Of course," Itachi says.

Everything goes quiet. Hidan goes to sit in the chair to go through his phone. Deidara goes into the bathroom to clean himself up. It's getting late now- they need to pick up food soon otherwise none of them will find the energy to go out.

In and Out is what they decide on. It's a quick and easy pickup. While driving back, they go to a random boba place to get themselves drinks. Hidan messes around with his boba while driving. Deidara, in the passenger seat, grips the handle. Itachi tells him not to pull anything stupid again. It all feels so natural that Hidan doesn't even notice himself putting his hand over Deidara's hand that's gripping the center console. Deidara doesn't say anything, and he chooses to keep quiet himself. Itachi eyes them from the backseat, taking a look at their conjoined hands. He can't help but show a small smile as he's sipping his drink. 

"Wait, I know I said I didn't have any plans. But! What if we eat in a park? There's a place called Liberty Park, and it's so nice there!" Deidara rambles excitedly.

"I don't mind, just put in my phone. Any objections, 'tachi?"

"None with me, I'm sure it would be nice to relax in the park. I think there's a leftover blanket in here that we can use to put on the grass." Deidara grins, rolling down his window and putting his arm out. He lets it fly through the wind.

Once they get to the park, they take twenty minutes to find the perfect spot. Though it might be pretty, there's still the issue of bugs. They pick a spot close to the little lake and bridge. They all pile onto the blanket they had laid in the grass, setting their food on the ground. For the most part, they eat in silence, too hungry to start conversations. It doesn't take them long to scarf down all of their food, setting all the trash into one of the bags.

"Guys, lay down, let's look at the sky," Deidara says, laying down on the blanket to look up at the stars. Itachi follows suit, dragging Hidan down with him. 

Hidan puts his hands behind his head, snorting.

"Never thought you would be into stargazin', dei. I thought the big dipper was too hard for you to find."

"Shut up, don't think I don't know you listen to screamo to scare everyone away, but switch it up to Clairo when you're in a mood."

"I think I heard him listening to Twice once," Itachi adds, helping Deidara.

"You guys didn't hear shit. Do you hear me? You. Didn't. Hear. _Shit_."

They laugh, and Hidan joins along. He extends his arm out to get the blood flowing again. He extends it right above Itachi's head. His hand is almost touching Deidara's hair. He pauses for a second and thinks it over, but goes for it. He ruffles Deidara's hair, brushing some of his bangs out of his face. Deidara looks over at him like he's trying to figure something out. It's gone as quickly as it's there though, and Deidara's thinking face is replaced by a smile. It's enough to make Hidan's heart do flips. Itachi scoots his head up to rest it on Hidan's arm.

"I needed a pillow," Itachi says.

"You use that line on everyone?"

"I could most definitely punch you right now, you know."

"I'd like to see you _try_ to pull up on me."

"You guys are everything to me." Deidara's voice cuts through the air. Itachi and Hidan are silent for a while, prompting Deidara to continue.

"Sorry, that was so out of the blue, yeah. It's true though. We've stuck to each other for so long, and we've always planned to do this. I'm glad it's finally happening, and that you guys agreed. I'm still sorry for calling you so early in the morning."

"Simp," Hidan says. He manages to block Deidara's hand coming to pinch him.

"I was trying to be heartfelt, jackass!"

"I was just kiddin', dei. I'm really glad you called us," Hidan explains, dodging Deidara's hands flying towards him.

"Another simp," Itachi sighs. They both laugh at his comment, ready to relay complaints at him.

Itachi silently wraps a hand around both of them, bringing them closer to him. He lays down again, bringing both of them down. Itachi only pulls them closer, having Hidan's head rest on his shoulder while Deidara's rests on his chest.

"Really though, I want to say thank you to the both of you. You've gotten me through a lot these past few years, and now we're able to go on this road trip," Itachi says while looking at the sky, "I don't think I could've made it as far as I did without you guys."

The sounds of the cicada's filter through the park, the soft breeze making the trees rustle. Hidan and Deidara stay quiet. They know he has more to say. Itachi sucks in a breath. His voice is shaky.

"Senior year, you guys remember what the doctor said. I was so worried that _that_ was it. I wanted to become as adventurous as possible. I wanted to check out every single thing on my bucket list. I remember you both would stay up for me just so we could finish a stupid task. It was a miracle I became stable, but I'm worried. I want to spend as much time with you guys as I can. I'll never know when something could happen again. I'm scared, terrified, but you guys being here makes up for it."

They listen to Itachi's words with great care. He rarely spoke about his illness. It wasn't something he liked to dwell too much on. Being diagnosed with a terminal illness at such a young age made him change his views of the world. He never got to experience a lot of things that other children took for granted. Senior year, Hidan remembered getting the phone call from Deidara. He was sobbing, and Hidan was barely able to make out his words. Itachi's condition was getting worse. He was only expected to push through for a limited amount of time. Too limited. Hidan remembers the breath being knocked out of his lungs. He remembers racing over to Deidara's house and picking him up. They rode their bikes to Itachi's house. Itachi's little brother, Sasuke, was crying as he answered the door. Itachi was in his room, laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. 

It was the first time they had all cried together. All three of them trying to console each other, trying to console Itachi. It was one of the worst moments in Itachi's memory. He hated seeing the pain in their eyes. They planned everything out in a little journal. Pages and pages of things Itachi had wanted to do. They spent the entirety of their senior year having fun. Most of the bullet points were checked off. Some of them still stayed empty to this day. He remembers writing about the road trip in one of the bullet points. Now, years later, they were finally making good on it. Itachi's condition improved significantly. Things were going well.

But he knows that anything could happen. 

Deidara's sniffling pushes Itachi out of his thoughts. Deidara's hand is gripping his shirt. 

"You can't just say something like that out of the blue. You know how easy it is to make me cry, hm," Deidara sobs.

Itachi laughs, rubbing Deidara's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. Hidan had been quiet the whole time.

"This is it. We weren't kidding when we said we gotta help you have fun, 'tachi. It's our goal. We need to cross off everything in that stupid journal."

"I brought it," Itachi says softly.

"Then I guess we're giving it a good flip through. We aren't ending this road trip until everything is marked off, right dei?"

"It's a promise. Pinky promise."

"You're such a kid," Hidan tries to insult, but finds himself making a pinky promise with both of them. 

"On that sad depressive episode, let's head back to the hotel so I can paint Hidan's nails! We can vibe in the hotel room, yeah!" Deidara shouts, jumping up from Itachi's chest. He pulls up Itachi by his hand. Hidan looks up at them, unwilling to move. They drag him up by his arms, and he goes limp just to make it harder for them. They get cleaned up, and Deidara jumps on Itachi's back. They swerve, almost falling into the grass. Hidan's holding the blanket and trash, looking at them fondly. It's getting harder and harder to conceal things.

The night is filled with dancing, terrible singing, and weird conversations. As Deidara paints Hidan's nails a dark green, they talk about aliens. Hidan goes on a rant about his "alien abduction experience" after they see a news segment on the TV with a man claiming he saw a UFO. He goes into detail when he describes it- Deidara hears Itachi try not to laugh in the background. Hidan goes on and on about how they have to be careful when driving from now on. Apparently, according to Hidan, they were going to enter prime alien-hunting environments.

"I'm an alien _magnet_ , man."

"You're a fucking lunatic. I can't- I can't breathe. What did you snort, my man?"

"I'm not _kidding_ , dei! They want something from me! It's probably because I don't trust the government and they wanna recruit me or somethin'."

"You sound like a hippie, Hidan. Stop talking before I piss myself," Deidara chokes. Itachi is punching the bed, trying to contain his laughter; it's coming out in short wheezes.

Hidan and Deidara look over at Itachi. Seeing him so happy and energetic makes them both want to do anything to keep it that way. Hidan attempts to dry off his nails by doing an interpretive dance to Deidara's karaoke. Itachi claps along, sometimes adding on add libs to the song being played. They stay up late, crashing right as they fall onto the bed. Itachi had already fallen asleep in the middle of the bed before Hidan and Deidara were even close to being done with their performances. In a daze, Hidan tucks Itachi in and flops onto the bed himself. He feels the mattress dip, assuming that Deidara also decided enough is enough. He's out like a light. Hidan hopes Itachi set an alarm so they can be out before ten. Knowing him, Itachi probably had the alarm set hours before. 

Just before Deidara is about to fall asleep, he remembers the light. Groaning, he goes to turn it off. He sees Hidan sprawled out over the blanket, Itachi sweetly tucked in. Deidara uses the last bit of energy he has inside of him to pull the covers from under Hidan to tuck him in as well. Hidan mumbles a small thank you before drifting back into a half-sleep.

"Can I braid your hair tomorrow?" Deidara asks. He might be cheating a bit, knowing full well Hidan didn't even listen to his question. He makes sure to record a voice memo on his phone for evidence in the morning.

"Sure, whatever," Hidan answers, head buried in the pillow.

 _Score_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really don't know if i'm even characterizing anyone right anymore i've just made them the biggest simps in the world this is so sad. i'm a sucker for fluff with a bit of angst. also, i don't condone hidan's driving motives. i apologise for any errors it's almost 6 am :)


	4. Picture This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys make their way through Colorado, but Hidan wants to make a detour. Que the UFO watchtower. Then a night trip in the car. Itachi loses his mind. Hopefully the garden cools them all down.
> 
> Also in which Hidan comes to a realization.
> 
> Cheesy, right?

"No way in Jashin's fuckin' name did I ever agree for you to braid my hair!" Hidan yells as Deidara pulls out the brush and hair ties.

"Oh? Want proof, hn?" Deidara taunts, pulling out his phone. Itachi watches it all unfold while he's packing up the rest of his things back into his suitcase.

Sure enough, the audio from the night before plays. Hidan's voice filters in through the air, groggy and tired. They all hear Deidara ask the question, and sure enough, to Hidan's dismay, he can be heard agreeing.

"That was no fuckin' fair! I was half-asleep!"

"You still agreed, so in this case, it counts, yeah."

Hesitating slightly, Hidan finally sits down in the chair to have his damp hair braided. Since his hair isn't that long, Deidara finds it hard to properly put his hair in a braid. He's running low on time, so he sucks it up and settles on a half-up, half-down look. It looks good paired with his [outfit](https://bingepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/1583925201-9591aabd-d8ee-4354-bbde-af912f593f03.jpeg), but he won't let Deidara know that. Especially not after the pissy fit he threw. Itachi is next, sitting down in the chair with no complaints. He lets Deidara start the braid up high, working its way down loosely. Deidara only opts to put his hair in a high ponytail, claiming that they won't be going out much anyways. They check out early, ready to get back onto the road.

Their main plan is to get through Colorado before stopping anywhere else. Though they've had fun choosing random cities to travel to, none of them had found any cities in Colorado that they wanted to stop in. It would take them a while to get through the whole of Colorado, but in the end, it's one step closer to their goal.

It's Itachi's turn to take the wheel. Hidan fits into the passenger seat, kicking off his shoes and propping up his feet on the dashboard. Deidara, in the backseat, waves at the air, fake coughing.

"You're gonna kill us if you have your toes out like that."

"Shut the hell up, we all took showers."

"I'm sure showers only last two hours at _most_ on you, yeah," Deidara laughs. Itachi tries containing the breath that threatens to come out of his nose. Hidan fumes, another argument starting. Just how things should be.

A few hours into their drive, Hidan starts yelling.

"Wait, wait, we need to go somewhere before we leave Colorado!"

"That was right in my ear Hidan," Itachi murmurs before adding, "where do you want to go?"

"So, there's this UFO watchtower I read about-"

"You've gotta be kidding me! You want us to stop at a UFO watchtower that's probably in the middle of nowhere?" Deidara says, leaning forward in his seat.

"Guys, please, I need'ta see it! You know I don't say _please_ without a good reason! So please, please please _please_ -"

"Are you sure you got through fifth grade? It seems like part of your brain got stuck there," Itachi muses, as if he's thinking out loud. Deidara laughs hard, falling back into his seat. Hidan looks out the window, pouting.

"Well fine, if you guys don't wanna then we can skip it, whatever." He's pouting for the second time today.

"I never said no, Hidan. You seem like you really want to go see it, so of course we'll go," Itachi says, smiling. 

Hidan turns to him with stars in his eyes. He looks back at Deidara, who nods along.

"We know how happy you get when talking about aliens, yeah. We'll go even if it means taking cheesy pictures by those dumbass alien statues."

Hidan shouts in excitement, scrambling to punch the location into the GPS. Deidara rolls his eyes and calls him over-dramatic. They might get there in the evening, but it doesn't bother them in the slightest. They're supposed to be driving through the night anyways, so it wouldn't hurt to have at least one stop.

The watchtower is exactly how Deidara expects it to be. It's in the middle of seemingly nowhere, surrounded by desert. There's a tacky gift shop next to the watchtower itself. Hidan is in awe, taking in every detail like it'll all disappear if he touches it. Deidara finds himself being drawn to some of the art pieces people have drawn. They're all unique, all in their own style. He finds himself sucked into the attraction, even if he thinks it's a bit stupid.

They all stop in the gift shop first. Hidan buys a tacky shirt that says 'believer' on it. Deidara opts to get a key-chain that has a little alien on it making a peace sign. Itachi gets a magnet with the same design as Deidara's key-chain. They stroll around more, trying to take in every individual weird thing they see. The actual watchtower is much prettier than Deidara thought it would be. It has a wide view of the sky. Lucky for them, they arrived right when the sun began to set. Deidara snaps a few pictures of the sky for memories.

Then Deidara sees it. The alien statue he was talking about. Itachi looks over at him and puts a finger over his mouth. If they mention it to Hidan, he'll want to take a picture with it. Hidan comes barreling in behind them right as they're about the pass the statue. Hidan pauses for a second, taking it in.

"We're takin' a picture."

"Shit," Deidara sighs.

"I'm sure we can suck it up for one picture, dei," Itachi reassures him.

They ask some random lady to take the picture for them. She's older, probably in her late fifties. She gushes about how cute they are as she takes the photo. Hidan's in the middle on one knee so the alien can be seen. Itachi and Deidara are standing on either side of him, leaning down slightly so the alien's hands and arms are showing. Hidan has the biggest grin, while Deidara has a look of annoyance. Itachi's smile is faint, his lips only coming up the tiniest bit.

It's then that a bug lands on Deidara's peace sign he puts up. He screeches as the flash goes off, swatting of whatever bug it was to the ground. Itachi looks over to him in concern while Hidan takes his phone back, thanking the lady. When he pulls up the photo, he cries in laughter. He makes sure to tell the lady a second time how thankful he is she was able to capture such a beautiful moment.

Deidara's mouth is wide open in panic. His arms are flung in different directions, a bit blurry. Itachi and Hidan are fully composed, smiles and all. It's the perfect photo to frame on a wall. 

When Deidara sees the photo, he screeches again.

"Delete it right fucking now," Deidara demands, trying to snatch the phone away from Hidan.

"Don't think I will," Hidan muses, throwing his phone from one hand to another as Deidara grabs at his arms. He looks over to Itachi and says, "catch!"

Itachi catches the phone with ease, running away right when it lands in his hand. Deidara is furious, bolting after him with a strength that shouldn't be real. They chase each other around the area outside the watchtower. Itachi, having inhuman footing, outruns Deidara easily. Deidara gives up the fifth time they circle around, his hands on his knees, hunched over trying to take in air. Itachi hands the phone over to Hidan, who high fives him. Deidara's eyes are full of fire as he walks back towards them.

"If you dare to show _anyone_ that picture, you _will_ be six feet under the ground. This goes for both of you, yeah," Deidara threatens, eyes narrowed.

"I just sent it to the group chat," Hidan says. 

"I promise I won't show it to anyone. It's just the three of us in the group chat," Itachi assures.

"How mad will you be if maybe, 's just a big fat maybe, I uploaded it to my Snapchat story," Hidan says, chuckling nervously when Deidara stays silent.

Deidara lunges at him, hands coming up to grip at Hidan's shirt.

"You what, you fucking _what_ , hn?" Deidara seethes.

"I think it's time to go," Itachi says, placing a warning hand on both Deidara and Hidan. It's a silent threat not to start anything in public.

"Sure," Hidan and Deidara say timidly, smiling at each other painfully while heading back to the car.

It's almost completely dark when they get back onto the road. Deidara had taken second driving shift on their way to the watchtower, so it should be Hidan's turn now. But, Itachi tells him that he wants to drive for the time being. He claims he's not tired in the slightest, and that he doesn't trust Hidan's driving. Hidan agrees begrudgingly. Deidara is in the passenger seat again, zoning out while looking out the window onto the dark forest around the road. Hidan digs through their bags, in search of something. He lets out a happy sigh when he finds it.

"I've missed you, man," Hidan says, looking into the eyes of his Totoro plushie.

"He's talking to a stuffed animal," Deidara whispers loudly to Itachi so Hidan can hear.

"Shut up! Don't forget that I know you have that body pillow hiding under your bed."

"Body pillow? Of what?" Itachi asks.

"Hidan, _don't_."

"Gaara, that actor dude that has a straight face all the time."

"You're dead," Deidara says, reaching to unbuckle his seat belt. Itachi puts a hand on his chest, keeping Deidara at bay. Deidara looks over at him, pleading.

"Just one punch the head, yeah. His brain is already messed up, one more blow won't hurt too much," Deidara says sweetly, placing his hand over Itachi's arm. The car is swerving to the left slightly, Itachi having to balance keeping Deidara from committing murder while also maintaining the wheel.

"A Gaara body pillow, huh," Itachi says, changing lanes before continuing, "I have a Kisame standee."

" _What_!" Deidara says in shock, putting his arms down. They spend the next few minutes talking about the show Kisame and Gaara are featured in. Soon enough, Deidara forgets his revenge plan completely, going on and on about how the plot of the show is 'too dragged out,' or 'paced weirdly.'

"Man, you saved my life, 'tachi," Hidan praises, leaning back into his seat as far as he can. 

"Don't think you're off the hook completely, un. I'm gonna gouge out your eyes the next time we stop."

Hidan keeps his mouth shut after that, not wanting to press Deidara further. Deidara just needs some time to cool down. Boredom takes place in Hidan's head. He's been on his phone the whole time, scrolling through social media or playing games. His Totoro plushie is tucked under his arm, secure. An idea comes to mind.

"Yo, 'tachi, where's our old journal you said you brought along?" Hidan questions.

"Check the first pocket on the blue backpack."

Sure enough, there it is. It's worn from all the times it's been opened and closed. The edges are tattered slightly and there's a stain on the first page from the time Deidara spilled orange juice all over it. None of the actual pages with writing were damaged though. They're all still intact. Hidan sees the doodles he drew on the first page. A weird eyeball. Jashin's symbol. A failed attempt at a cat. He looks through the drawings on the side before finally looking at the checklist. Every line is covered with something different Itachi had wanted to do.

**_\- Pull an all-nighter. ✓_ **

**_\- Escape room. ✓_ **

**_\- Act in a play. (Deidara's idea) ✓_ **

**_\- Go to a concert._ **

**_\- Karaoke in public._ **

Some of the things they had planned to do back in senior year fell through. Their town was too little to host any big-name concerts. Though they had tried convincing their parents to go to one a few hours away, they had all said no, claiming that Itachi's health could have been at risk. As for karaoke, Hidan thinks they just forgot along the way, focusing on more of the heavy tasks. The list goes on, most of the check marks placed. Most of the tasks they weren't able to do were because of their age, or the location. Now that they're adults, anything is in play.

He stumbles on the page talking about the road trip. It was supposed to be their 'big project,' but again, they were turned down because of the risk it posed to Itachi's health. A random road trip with no real destination. A chance to show Itachi freedom. No responsibilities, no limits. It was thought out so that Itachi would feel invincible. 

Technically, their road trip _does_ have somewhat of a destination. Cedar Point. But, that doesn't mean the trip has to end right after they're done in Ohio. Hidan makes a mental note to bring up the prospect of New York to the others.

He flips some more, chuckling at some of the stupid ideas they had. He stops when he gets to the last page with writing on it, looking down at the last bullet point. The ink looks fresher, newer. 

_**\- Confess.** _

Hidan looks up to the bullet point above it, noting how the ink is scuffed and worn. The last line must have been put in very recently. 

_Confess? Confess what? Who's confessing?_

Hidan thinks to himself some more, mulling over all the different meanings the word can have. He wants to bring it up to Itachi, but he's too tired to start another conversation. Deidara had fallen asleep a while ago, chair tilted back slightly. He had tried curling into a ball, facing his window.

"Are you still doin' okay so far? We can switch if you want," Hidan yawns.

"I'm fine, Hidan. Take a small nap and I'll wake you up in an hour or two when we get to a rest stop," Itachi says gently. Hidan's already drifting to sleep, mumbling a small 'okay.'

He's woken up with a shake to the shoulder. His car door is open, and Deidara is crouching, trying to bend into the car. Hidan blinks his eyes a few times, realizing where he is.

"'S my turn already?" He asks Deidara, unbuckling his seat belt. It has to be at least one in the morning. Hidan stretches when he gets out of the car, waking himself up. The rest stop lights are enough to blind him, his eyes used to the dark. He squints and sees Itachi coming towards them from what he assumes to be the vending machines. When he reaches them, he holds out an energy drink for Hidan. Mocha coffee for Deidara.

"Do _not_ try anything funny again, hn," Deidara warns, tugging on Hidan's sleeve.

"He's right. It's early in the morning and we're all a bit tired," Itachi agrees, climbing into the back seat. Though the normal routine would have Itachi in the passenger seat, both Deidara and Hidan had convinced him to take the back so he could have more room to sleep. 

Hidan waves his hand in dismissal before quickly stopping in the bathroom. As they get back onto the road, Hidan sips his energy drink. He has at least five or so hours to go. It's going to be a long, _long_ night.

Itachi falls asleep almost instantly, his head on a pillow and blanket curled tightly around him. Deidara is busy playing a game on his phone while Hidan focuses on the road. Deidara hopes Hidan won't notice some of his side staring tendencies.

"So uh, in our old book, there was somethin' that I saw at the very end. A bullet point that had looked pretty new. It said 'confess.' Did'ya write it?"

"A new bullet point? I didn't write it, hm. Maybe Itachi did. No clue what it means though," Deidara shrugs, turning to look at Itachi. "Maybe we could ask him later, yeah?"

Hidan nods, and it's silent again. He zones out, focusing on the road. He drives for an hour, a straight shot through the freeway. Itachi groans when they hit a bump. Hidan prays it doesn't wake him up, but he can see Itachi straighten up his posture.

"Sorry man, go back to sleep."

"No it's okay, I probably need to wake up anyways. Can you play something loud?" Itachi asks, earning an eyebrow raise from Deidara. _That's_ unusual for Itachi. Usually he likes playing soft or mellow songs. Not something _loud_.

Deidara tries to find a playlist that isn't overbearing, but at the same time still brings a 'hype' aspect. Once he clicks shuffle, the car is met with heavy base. Hidan grins, putting pressure on the gas. He's been going significantly slower than all the other cars that have passed him. It won't hurt to go a little faster. Deidara and Itachi don't seem to mind this time, rolling down the windows slightly. The sound of the wind mixes with the base. It's refreshing to have the cool night air come into the car. Even the air conditioner couldn't keep them satisfied. 

Itachi thinks he's getting delirious. He checks the time. Three in the morning. He looks back up to the front seats. Deidara is doing his best opera rendition of the song that's playing. Its ear-shattering, heartbreaking, but Itachi finds himself laughing until he feels like crying. He figures the energy drink he had did something to his head. It's pounding, adrenaline shooting through his body.

Itachi's window is fully down, and he's having the time of his life. He should technically be sleeping, but he wants to help Hidan stay awake. The music gave him more energy than he thought it would. Anything could come out of his mouth at this point, the thought _scary_. His brain is completely shut down. He has no fears, no inhibitions. Itachi wonders briefly if he accidentally snorted something he wasn't supposed to.

"Blowjobs are _hard_ ," Itachi complains, the words coming out clear and with no hesitation. Deidara's mouth is hanging open, hand frozen on the volume knob. Hidan barks out laughter immediately, slamming his knee into the wheel. 

"Where- where the fuck," Hidan keeps laughing uncontrollably, "did that come from?"

"He's on drugs. Hidan, you asshole, you probably have some type of weird stash hidden somewhere! A mix of all the shit you could find in your kitchen condensed into powder, hn!"

Hidan reaches over to smack Deidara's arm playfully. "Even if I did have a 'stash,' I wouldn't let either of you touch it!"

"Oh, I see how it is," Deidara mock pouts. He looks over his shoulder to talk to Itachi. 

"In the literal sense, yeah, blowjobs _are_ hard."

"If I piss myself, it's _your_ fault," Hidan says. Deidara snorts, adding onto everyone's laughter. 

The rest of the drive goes by like that. They're all out of their minds, laughing at absolutely _everything_. Deidara points out a stupid looking car, and Hidan is gone, Itachi gasping for air. They get to Wichita early in the morning. The sun is still coming up when they pull into a random parking lot. Deidara and Itachi had _crashed_ in the last hour of driving, exhaustion finally catching up to them. Hidan almost falls asleep right when he puts the car into park.

Itachi and Deidara stir at the feeling of the car being turned off. Hidan leans his chair back. From all of the driving, laughing, and horrible, horrible singing he's witnessed, it's no wonder he passes out as soon as his eyes close. They stay like that for a few hours. It's uncomfortable sleeping in a car, and when Deidara wakes up, he admits he would take the shitty motel any day.

He figures he should check out the attractions in the city to see if there's anything worthwhile. When he finds something that peaks his interest, he shakes Hidan awake, doing the same for Itachi.

"Botanical garden."

Hidan rubs his eyes. "Huh?"

"Wichita has a really pretty botanical garden. Can we go, hm?"

"That sounds like it would be fun," Itachi says while smiling.

"That's gonna be so _boring_ ," Hidan drawls, dragging out the last word.

"You just don't appreciate the beauty of nature, Hidan," Deidara accuses, already pulling up the directions. "I'll drive."

Hidan accepts after being told there's a food court. Deidara excitedly drives, energy picking back up it's speed again. They're able to get tickets fairly easily despite looking like they crawled out of a sewer system, bags under their eyes. It doesn't even hit them how shady they look in their worn out clothes. 

It's not only the beauty of the garden, but the aura it gives off. It's so peaceful and welcoming. Since it's so early, they get most of the rooms and attractions practically to themselves. They're given a map, seventeen acres to explore. They let Itachi pick the first stop on the map. He chooses the koi pond. While they walk they make small talk, complaining about the heat and fanning themselves.

The [koi pond](https://botanica.org/koi-pond-pavilions/) has all three of them in awe. It feels as if they've entered another world. There's the quiet sound of the water being filtered, as well as the rustling of the trees and plants surrounding it. They get a small packet of food to share in giving to the koi. Itachi sprinkles some of the pellets in, and watches the koi come up to eat. His arms are leaning over the balcony. He closes his eyes, taking in the calming sounds. He opens them again when he hears the shutter of a camera.

He looks to his side, seeing Deidara with a Polaroid camera in hand.

"Sorry, my man, just thought you looked really pretty," Deidara says faintly, noticing how Itachi turns away with pink dusting his face.

Hidan gets permission to hold the photo until it develops. He gets first look at it, taking in Itachi's side profile and the beautiful background. He looks at peace, like there's nothing around him but the sounds of the garden. The wind had picked up when Deidara had taken the photo, Itachi's hair swaying in the breeze. Hidan wants to frame the photo and keep it preserved forever. He shows Deidara, earning the same reaction from him as his own.

"We need to put that somewhere safe, yeah. Somewhere we can look back on," Deidara starts, adding, "maybe we should put it in our check list journal! Put all the mementos from this road trip in it."

"That sounds sick!" Hidan exclaims.

Itachi walks back up to them, ready to move onto the next area. Deidara and Hidan show him the developed photo. He gets shy with all the praise thrown his way.

Hidan gets to choose the next area they visit. He looks through the map, reading the names. Some of them sound sickeningly boring, so he skips over those. He sees the words 'children's garden' and they're off. The garden has a bunch of mini built in attractions. There are statues that are big enough to go through. There's a rainbow archway with reflecting panels. A yellow brick road leads them through. Hidan has the time of his life messing around with the play places. Itachi laughs along softly while Deidara tells him to do stupid flips. Hidan hears another shudder, one that's directed his his direction this time. He makes a face at Deidara.

"I probably look like shit in that! I was climbin' the tree, dipshit," Hidan argues.

"You looked cute, and I wanted to remember, so stop whining," Deidara reprimands. Hidan tries not to smile at Deidara's comment.

Itachi holds the photo, watching Deidara and Hidan race through the trail. He doesn't bother trying to catch up with them. He knows he'll get there eventually. Once he finally comes up to where they're waiting, Hidan slings an arm around his shoulder. The photo comes out looking better than Hidan thought it would. He has a face of concentration as he tries climbing the three, the camera capturing it perfectly. Deidara playfully bumps his shoulder, telling him he looks hot. Itachi nods. Hidan swats them away, a weird feeling bubbling up in his chest.

"Can we go to the food court next? I'm starving."

The other two agree and they make their way back to the trail. Deidara initiates another race, this time between the three of them. If Itachi purposely slows down so they can get in front of him, he doesn't show it. Deidara wins; Hidan accuses him of cheating. 

The walk to the food court is grueling. The temperature keeps inching higher and higher. Relief fills them when they see the doors and the sign printed 'Food Court.' They grab everything. Burgers, fries, anything Hidan sees that's appealing on the menu, he orders. Deidara scoffs when an another burger comes in. Hidan makes sure to order them all large drinks. It's refreshing.

"So, dei," Hidan says with a mouthful of food, "where do'ya wanna go?"

"I was looking at the [Chinese Garden of Friendship](https://botanica.org/chinese-garden/)," Deidara says, smiling brightly, pausing for a second before saying, "also, don't talk with your mouth full."

Hidan only winks at Deidara, who scoffs at the bad joke.

"I was looking at the pictures they had. It looks really pretty," Itachi approves. Hidan doesn't argue, hoping he can see the Dragon Wall.

After they eat, they set out again. It's mid noon when Deidara checks the time. He hadn't realized how long they had spent walking around and having fun. Though they agreed to go to the Chinese Garden, Itachi suggests they stop at just one more attraction. They choose a wildflower patch. There are butterflies floating around, making the area seem like it's in a dream. Hidan looks over a sign talking about birth flowers. He finds his own; daises. He looks for Itachi's next. Roses. Deidara's is lilies. He's secretly jealous of them for having such pretty flowers in comparison to his simple one. Itachi and Deidara reassure him, telling him that daises can be just as beautiful. Especially all the colors they bloom in. They walk out, back on their original path.

The entrance to the Chinese Garden shocks him. It's gorgeous. There's a stream with specifically placed rocks and shrubs. There are murals adorning the walls. The structures are some of the most alluring pieces of architecture he's seen. There's sculptures everywhere, and Deidara admires the work that was put into making them, being a sculptor himself.

"Check this out!" Hidan shouts. Itachi and Deidara run over to him, taking in the Dragon Wall. It's porcelain, reflecting off of the sun to create a small twinkle. Hidan's already taking pictures, attempting to capture different angles. Even Itachi pulls out his phone and takes a few photos. They all wander to the stream, stopping at another balcony, similar to the koi pond. Deidara asks the first person he sees to take a Polaroid of them all together. Some of the architecture gets in the picture, to which Deidara cheers at.

Before the picture was taken, Hidan had made sure to say something to make the both of them laugh. The photo shows all of them mid laugh, hands around each others waists. It captures happiness and friendship. Hidan looks towards Deidara and Itachi. They're checking out the Leak Windows. They look so good with smiles on their faces. They're beautiful. He's hit with everything all at once.

He likes them. Shit, he _likes_ them. It dawns in on him and he freezes. He's been trying to push away those thoughts for a while now. _What if I embrace my feelings instead of trying to forget about them_ , Hidan thinks. He takes in a deep breath. He knows they don't feel the same. It'll only hurt him more if he tries to go along with his heart. But it feels nice, even for a moment, to pretend. 

They're too good for him. He's always been an idiot his whole life. He's been cast away by almost everyone. They were his salvation. It was a miracle both their parents took a liking to him. Though he did have parents, they weren't very favorable. Sometimes, he would go over to one of their houses for as long as a week. He didn't want to face whatever was waiting for him back home. 

They were so tightly glued together that even the thought of losing one of them sends Hidan into a panic. If he confesses anything, their friendship could be ruined forever. That's the _last_ thing Hidan wants. But again, it's nice to pretend. He'll embrace his feelings, but he won't act on them. That's what he'll do.

"Hidan? Hidan? Himbo!" Deidara's voice snaps him of his thinking. Itachi's waving a hand in front of his face.

"I got uh- distracted. 'S just really pretty. I'm glad we came," Hidan says, forcing a grin.

"...Right," Itachi eyes him, concern in his eyes. Deidara looks the same way, frowning.

"Don't worry your pretty little heads, I'm _fine_."

"So you're saying I'm pretty?" Deidara teases, sliding his body up to Hidan's. Hidan's breath hitches.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Deidara laughs, pulling away from Hidan. He starts walking towards the exit, Itachi in tow. Itachi glances back and extends a hand to Hidan. Hidan hesitates; his heart jumps. He takes Itachi's hand and runs, slotting his free hand in Deidara's. He swings their hands all together, watching as Itachi's face gets brighter. Deidara laughs harder, swinging his arm in time with Hidan's. Hidan lets himself fall into the thought of falling in love. Though he tells himself he won't act on anything, it feels easy to fall.

It might be a hard one, but for the sake of his best friends, he'll do anything. He'll push over mountains for them, though he hates admitting it. He'll even step on his own feelings. He'll travel across the world in a heartbeat to get Deidara's stupid special clay. He'll cross oceans to get Itachi a book he wants.

"Next stop, Kansas City!" Deidara screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOO i've always wanted to visit a UFO watchtower. please enjoy the mediocre writing and Deidara's eye for pretty things (and Hidan's)!! i have a spotify playlist for this fic that i probably should drop soon sigh. feel free to leave a comment!
> 
> did i in fact listen to seattle by sam kim when i wrote the last hidan scene? maybe.


	5. Tongue Tied

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a surprise in the works. Itachi goes to get things done, while Deidara and Hidan plan something.
> 
> Itachi, unfortunately, misunderstands.
> 
> Someone(s) slips up.
> 
> And, a water park!

Their drive to Kansas City only takes three hours. Deidara drives, still coherent enough to keep his eyes on the road without accidentally sleeping. He stops driving halfway through to pull into a rest stop. Hidan and Itachi are taking a nap, so he takes the time to book the hotel in advance. He doesn't want to go through the pain of booking the hotel in person. They don't stir, thankfully continuing to sleep even while Deidara starts the car back up.

Though he would want to set blankets on Hidan and Itachi, the heat is already too much even with the air conditioner on. He settles for the stuffed animals. He sets the precious Totoro plushie right next to Hidan's arm and tucks it into the blanket. He fishes out his own plushie, setting it by Itachi. His braid had come out when Deidara started driving. His hair is wavy, only the bottom strands coming out of the braid completely. It's one of the few times Deidara gets to witness it down. He pulls back out onto the road after making sure everything is in order, taking in a deep breath and exhaling.

Deidara doesn't bother putting music on, knowing full well it'll wake Itachi up, which in turn will wake Hidan up. He wants to let them sleep as long as possible. They've all had a long day _and_ night. He's left alone with his thoughts. His mind drifts back to what Hidan mentioned to him earlier. _Confess_. Deidara tries to find reason as to why Itachi would write that. Maybe he has a secret he wants to share? He doesn't want to push Itachi to say anything he's not ready to, though, so he'll put off asking for the time being. Hopefully Hidan will follow suit.

The sun gets in his eyes, making him squint. He rolls down his window barely even a quarter, happy with the air that hits his face. He knows there are things to sort out, but he chooses to just _live_ for the moment. The time passes quickly, and soon enough, he passes the sign to get into Kansas City. He turns into the hotel right as he hears Hidan's gravely voice.

"We there yet?" Hidan asks, yawning. 

"Just got here, hn," Deidara replies, looking through the rear view mirror. He never knows how, but Hidan's hair always manages to get messed up when he sleeps. An unfortunate bedhead problem.

Itachi stirs, blinking his eyes several times.

"We're here already?" 

"Yep! And the room is already booked, we just need to confirm with the receptionist, yeah."

It's much easier to check in compared to the previous places they've stayed at. All three of them go inside with their suitcases, thankful to not have to wait. It's similar to the room they booked last time. Deidara will _not_ subject himself to the torture of a motel room ever again.

"I call first shower!" Deidara declares, already pulling out his bathroom products. No one complains, letting him take his well deserved shower. Hidan doesn't even yell at him to get out; he'll let Deidara take his forty five minute shower.

It's the bang that Itachi and Hidan hear from the bathroom that worries them. Itachi leaps for the bathroom door, knocking.

"Dei? Are you okay?" 

There's silence before Deidara answers, and Hidan's brain kicks into over gear. There's so many ways this could go wrong. Muffled laughing interrupts his thinking.

"I fell- I can't breathe hold on- I fell asleep in the shower, and I dropped the shampoo bottle. Those things are _loud_ when you drop them, hm." Itachi sighs, making his way back to the chair. Hidan rolls his eyes, sitting back down on his own chair.

Deidara emerges from the shower with wet hair. He tells them he needs to 'let it air dry once in a while so it doesn't get crispy.' He even chooses not to use his straightener, his hair slightly wavy. Something Hidan and Itachi aren't used to. 

Itachi takes the next shower, promising not to take too long. Hidan eyes the brush that Deidara pulls out. He sees Deidara struggle to brush the back of his head, since his hair is so long. He has to extend his arm as far as he can to reach.

"Hey, you always brush our hair. Let me brush yours, dumbass." Deidara looks at him with mild surprise before breaking out into a smile. He hurries over to give Hidan the brush, dragging the chair Itachi had previously been sitting in to use for himself. He sets the chair in front of Hidan.

Slowly, Hidan drags the brush through Deidara's hair. It's damp, and Hidan can smell Deidara's hair wash. He continues like that, gently untangling any knots that had formed. Deidara tips his head back, closing his eyes.

"I'll pay you to do this everyday," Deidara offers, turning to signal Hidan can stop.

"Sorry man, one time offer."

"I'll convince you, Hidan, mark my words, hn, I'll convince you."

Itachi comes out of the shower, towel on his head. He looks at the brush still in Hidan's hand and connects the dots.

"Would you mind?" Itachi asks, pulling out his own brush. Hidan only scoffs, taking the brush from Itachi's hand.

He tries doing the same thing he did with Deidara's hair; gentle and slow. Deidara stands on the side, taking photos, clearly wanting to prolong the moment.

"This stays between the three of us, unless you want to die young."

"What if, _hypothetically_ , I uploaded it to my Snapchat story," Deidara mocks, using Hidan's words from their time at the UFO watchtower.

"You wouldn't fuckin' dare."

"If you don't make it up to me for posting that dumbass photo on your story I just _might_ dare," Deidara quips, winking at Hidan.

"What do you want?" Hidan sighs, giving Itachi his brush when he decides its been thoroughly brushed out.

"Let me think about it, yeah."

They quit their bickering, to Itachi's relief. Stepping in gets exhausting, especially with the amount of times he has to do it. He just wants peace and quiet sometimes. It's when the idea pops up in Itachi's head.

"I'm going to try and find a laundromat to go to so I can wash all of our dirty clothes," Itachi says casually. "Just throw all your dirty clothes in a pile so I can take them out."

"You want us to come with you?" Hidan asks, gathering up his wrinkled clothes. Deidara follows, setting his neatly folded clothes on top of Hidan's messily thrown together ones.

"No, I'll be okay. You're both okay with staying here while I take the car? I can walk if you want to use it." Deidara shakes his head at Itachi's politeness.

"You can take the car, yeah! We'll be fine! I promise I won't try and kill Hidan."

"Good." Itachi smiles at them before picking up their clothes and his own, placing them all into a bag. He sets off with a little wave of his hand and a 'call me if you need me.'

Deidara drops on the bed, rolling around. Hidan makes his way around the bed, discreetly grabbing a pillow and chucking it at Deidara. Deidara gasps, his fingers digging into the pillow Hidan threw. He grabs another pillow, one for each hand, and throws them at Hidan, who tries dodging. Hidan fails miserably, the pillow hitting his head as he tries to duck. 

Their pillow fight lasts until they're both out of energy, sweaty and laid out on the ground.

"We should surprise 'tachi," Deidara heaves, laughing, "he always puts up with us."

"...True, but what the hell are we supposed to get him?"

"He loves dango! And we can get some ramen! We can have a dinner set up in here instead of going out to eat. Oh! We can get candles and make it look all fancy!"

"So a date?" Hidan teases.

"Yep!" Deidara claps his hands together. "It's a date. An appreciation date! Text 'tachi and tell him to take his time, or go shopping, something like that."

"Yeah, yeah." Hidan tries to keep the heat rising on his face to a minimum. A date. It's a date. But only an _appreciation_ date. Nothing more. Hidan tells himself to get his head out of the clouds.

He doesn't have time to think as Deidara pulls him up to his feet, gripping his wrists. He pretends to go limp, making his head loll back. Deidara yells at him, and tells him they need to leave _right now_. He finally gets up, grabbing what he needs.

"Where are we going first?"

"A restaurant that serves dango. It takes ten minutes to get there-" Hidan interjects.

"That's not that bad, I don't see why you're makin' such a big deal-"

"By car. Ten minutes by car, Hidan."

"Fuck, go- go!"

Deidara says it'll take almost thirty minutes to get there if they walk. Hidan starts jogging, claiming they can cut the time in half if they run. Deidara groans, but picks up the pace. They stop several times to take breaks, mainly for Deidara's sake. They forgot to bring water with them, the heat unbearable. Still, they push through, for Itachi, and arrive at the restaurant, drenched in sweat. 

They order takeout, using the waiting time to catch their breath. When Hidan asks Deidara why they didn't just order the ramen from the restaurant, Deidara replies to him that convenience store ramen is always better than restaurant ramen. It's questionable, but Hidan trusts Deidara's word. He almost forgets that he never sent Itachi the text he was supposed to, quickly typing up a message.

Itachi's phone buzzes; a text from Hidan.

**From: 'dandan**

**take ur time. u should go shoppin or whatever. buy urself something nice.**

**7:05 PM**

Itachi stares at the screen in confusion. Take his time? His first thought is that they fought, and are trying to clean up. But then his mind wanders to other places. Why wouldn't they want him to come back to the hotel room? He knows they wouldn't break anything too valuable. It hits him.

_Maybe they want time alone._

He tries not to show the disappointment he's feeling on his face. He's still waiting for the clothes to wash, the cycle only halfway through. It's going to take a long time anyways. He should leave them to _whatever_ their doing. His lips are in a thin line when he texts back.

**To: 'dandan**

**ok.**

**7:11 PM**

Hidan and Deidara are walking to a convenience store when his phone buzzes in his pocket. He checks the text that Itachi sent him, raising an eyebrow at the one word response. He doesn't worry about it too much. It's always been how Itachi texts. Short, simple, and to the point. He shrugs, slipping the phone back into his pocket.

They buy everything they think they need. Five bowls of ramen, because Deidara knows they can all devour much more than a bowl each. He finds the candles tucked away in the 'self care' isle. He picks out candles that he thinks Itachi will enjoy, leaving out citrus. It's a bit _too_ strong for his nose. 

He wanders around and stumbles into the alcohol section. Oh so close, but again too far. He just recently turned twenty back in May. Though he can't have any, that doesn't mean he needs to deny Itachi and Hidan. Plus, he can have some anyways. He's not going to get caught. He finds Hidan in the snack section getting a handful of candy. He tugs at his sleeve, dragging him back into the alcohol section.

"I don't think I brought my fake ID, so you need to be the hero, yeah."

"You want me to buy drinks?" Hidan deadpans.

" _Champagne_ , Hidan. Fancy champagne. This one right here." Deidara points to a random bottle. Hidan rolls his eyes, but reaches to grab the bottle anyways. 

"Well, dipshit, what do'ya plan to do for cups?" 

Deidara curses. He gives Hidan a weary smile and tells him the plan. Hidan only laughs, grabbing the rest of the materials they need before paying.

They rush back to the hotel room after checking the time. Almost seven fifty. Deidara starts placing the candles on the table they have, setting them in precise locations. He grabs the bottle of champagne, setting it with a cluster of candles right in the middle. Meanwhile, Hidan puts the ramen bowls into the microwave one at a time. He sets the dango to the side, hiding it. That'll be for dessert.

He pulls out the big bowl they bought and washes it, handing it off to Deidara to place wherever he wants. By the third bowl, Hidan gets a text.

**From: golden boy**

**is it okay for me to come back now? it's been a while hope you guys are ok.**

**8:27 PM**

Hidan panics and tells Deidara to start emptying the ramen into the bowl. He's in the middle of washing the the three smaller bowls they bought. Hidan knows it's extra, but Deidara was adamant on making this special for Itachi. Hidan can't blame him, though, he's done too much for them. His feelings flare up inside him, making him work faster at washing the bowls. He's going to make _damn_ sure Itachi is appreciated. He types with wet fingers.

**To: golden boy**

**yeah u can comef back now and we're all good**

**8:28 PM**

Deidara silently thanks Hidan for bringing a lighter along with him. He finishes taking the last ramen package from the microwave and puts it into the bowl, mixing it all together. It's steaming, and it smells delicious. Hidan hurries in with the dried bowls, setting them down where Deidara directs him. They pick up any stray clothes laying around on the floor, straightening up the bed in the process. Their suitcases are closed and clean. The bathroom is spotless. They hear Itachi's key card as their getting into place.

" _Surprise_!" They scream at the same time, waving jazz hands in the air. Itachi looks at them with concern until he sees it.

There are candles on the table, and what smells like ramen. A bowl and a bottle of champagne are in the middle of the table, three bowls on the outside. He's floored.

"We didn't wanna sound suspicious, but we kinda had to find a way to get you to leave for a sec," Hidan flushes. 

"We just wanted to show you how much you mean to us, hn! So we set up an appreciation date!" Deidara finishes, smiling as hard as he can.

Itachi's at a loss for words, a smile creeping onto his face. Deidara bites his lip at the lack of an answer until he sees that Itachi's smile has grown.

"I don't know what to say besides thank you. _Thank you_."

"You're adorable, yeah," Deidara says as he's pulling both Itachi and Hidan into a group hug. "Let's eat!"

They dig in right away, starving since their early lunch back at the garden. They laugh when Hidan coughs a noddle out, complaining that it's too spicy for him. Itachi tells them about the laundromat and the different people he saw.

"There was this girl who was washing a hazmat suit." Deidara bursts out laughing, food still in his mouth. 

"The fuck would she need that for?" Hidan asks.

"Weird kink maybe?" Deidara pitches in. Itachi chokes, punching his chest. Hidan starts crying from the combination of spiciness and laughter.

The rest of their dinner goes like that. Deidara pulls out the cups for their wine, Itachi's chuckle sounding in his ears. Hidan brings out the dango, taking in the way Itachi's eyes light up. He devours it instantly.

"I'm guessing you found the weirdest _mugs_ that were in the isle?"

"On the contrary, my man, these were the _best_ mugs from the isle. It was horrible sorting through all that shit, hm." 

Itachi continues chuckling as Hidan gets ready to pop the top open. His hopes are let down when the top doesn't shoot off. Still, he very shakily fills their glasses halfway.

It doesn't get long for Deidara to get tipsy. He's always been a lightweight. Several high school parties had proven that. He chugs down the champagne with fervor, emptying his cup in less than five minutes. Itachi and Hidan gawk at him in worry, but Deidara sways a hand at them, repeating over and over that he's fine.

Hidan's the next to go, refilling his cup a few times before he really gets lightheaded. He starts laughing at his own words. They tumble out of his mouth without any context.

"Me? I'ma ass man, to let you men know. Wait, if you like dudes what's the other blank? Usually people say stuff like boobs or ass, not saying that I don't like boobs, but what's the other thing, man?"

"Then it would have to be dick, yeah? You can't just say _chest_."

"Well, 's still the same. I'm still an ass man, man."

The whole bottle is empty by the time Itachi reaches to refill his cup for the fifth time. Deidara's talking to something on the wall while Hidan drags himself further and further into conspiracy theories. Even Itachi loosens up to start a debate with Hidan. His brain is fuzzy, and he doesn't know what he's talking about. He knows he's making a good argument though.

Deidara's voice suddenly booms through their conversation, his voice dragging out.

"Guys, guys, listen. I've had thee _fattest_ fucking crushes on you since we were like, twelve. Or maybe ten? I don't know, but now it's all out in the open, yeah!" Deidara giggles, looking with bright eyes at Hidan and Itachi.

Hidan's arms and thrown up in the air.

"No fuckin' _way_ man! I've had a crush on you two since, like, grade eight." Hidan points at them with his fingers. "But I told myself to keep that shit under wraps, y'know. You should've seen me at the garden today, it was a mess!"

Itachi's stares at them, still.

"I guess I'll make it three for three and say that I, too, have the _biggest_ , most _ginormous_ , _enormous_ -" Itachi pauses. "What's another word for big?"

"Large."

" _Largest_ \- you get the point. It hurts a little bit."

"Oh my god! Where are you hurting?" Deidara reaches out to grab at Itachi's shoulder.

"Here," Itachi says, pointing at his heart.

"You gotta take better care of yourself!"

They all stand up, leaving their bowls and cups unwashed on the table. They don't even bother to turn the light off, cramming themselves into the bed. Itachi takes the middle before Deidara can. Deidara scoffs, but takes the open spot on Itachi's side. Hidan does the same. They stay like that for a little while until Deidara sits up.

"Almost forgot! Need to give a good night kiss to you guys, hn." He leans over in Itachi and Hidan's direction. 

He smacks a kiss onto Itachi's forehead, leaning more to place another kiss on Hidan's cheek. He falls back into his pillow, only hearing soft breathing.

The bright light and blaring alarm wake them up in the morning.

Hidan groans and tries to turn it off, only to realize that the phone is on the table. Itachi quickly sits up, climbing out of his spot to turn it off. Deidara shifts.

"Time to get up, guys. We only have two hours to get out. We're lucky this hotel let's us leave at one."

It takes some time, but Hidan and Deidara finally get up. Hidan rubs his head.

"What the hell happened last night?"

"I think we drowned a bottle and a half of champagne."

"I think I had a blackout, I can't remember shit. The last thing I remember is talking about someone's ass."

"I remember that too," Itachi says, "but everything else is hazy."

"Damn, I kinda wanted to remember what I said," Hidan complains, moving to pick up his stuff.

Deidara throws up in the bathroom, complaining that champagne hangovers are worse because of all the carbonation. Hidan goes to make fun of him, but stops when a searing headache pierces him. Itachi's surprised that his hangover doesn't have him doubling over towards the ground. He assumes he didn't drink as much as they did.

They checkout and pile into the car again, Itachi in the front seat. Though they had planned to explore Kansas City, Itachi suggests that they just head straight to Chicago and spend a few days there. Eight hours is their expected travel time, so they agree to all have a turn in driving. They sit in the car for a while because Deidara claims he needs some time or he'll get carsick too quickly.

Something tugs at Itachi.

"So... we're going to have to go back eventually. I only got this much vacation time because I barely take any sick days. I still got this weeks pay, as a little bonus, but we all have rent to pay."

"I think my boss is scared of me, so gettin' the vacation time was no problem. I made sure to set aside at least a months worth of rent, so 'sides that, I'm all good." Hidan gets a feeling in his stomach. "You're right, though, we can't do this forever."

"Well, since I do commissions, and I have my own business, I'm able to set my own hours, yeah. But I can't keep my shop closed forever. It's my main source of income. I've been making a lot recently, though, so I'll be fine for a while."

"Let's at least stop in Chicago, then do Cedar Point. We can go back then." Itachi says. It's quiet, but Deidara hums in affirmation.

Hidan can only nod. He isn't ready for the trip to be over so soon. He tries thinking of some excuse to extend their time, but he comes up short. They have responsibilities. They're all still attending college. At least Deidara and Itachi are. Hidan's not too sure if he wants to drop out.

He doesn't want to dwell on that, though. If his time is limited, he wants to savor every second he has. A memory from last night floods back to him.

_"-I, too, have the biggest, most ginormous, enormous- what's another word for big?"_

Hidan's eyes pop out of his head. He reiterates what he remembers to Deidara and Itachi, laughing.

" _What_ were you talkin' about, 'tachi? What's _big_?"

"My man, I didn't think _you'd_ be the one to talk about that type of stuff," Deidara teases.

"I don't know what I was talking about- I swear. I would never talk about my, you know." Itachi's face is red. He tries avoiding the subject, but they pester him. He doesn't admit that he remembers everything he said. He doesn't talk about how that was a confession. If they don't remember, it's probably best it stays that way. He remembers Hidan and Deidara saying something before he confessed, but it's still to blurry. He's just thankful they don't remember.

"C'mon, 'tachi, let me have a peek." Hidan wiggles his fingers towards Itachi, tickling his waist.

Itachi swerves right, a car honking at them.

"Hidan, you _asshole_."

Hidan apologizes half-heatedly, snickering to himself. He looks at his phone again. They're barely fifteen minutes out, but he still speaks quickly.

"Look, I know that we were planning on goin' straight to Chicago, but I have a last minute request!"

"How bad of an idea is it."

"Not bad at all! I jus' wanted to stop at the water park that's here!"

"A water park, Hidan?" Deidara says blankly.

"Dei, they have a lazy river."

"Itachi! How would _you_ like to go to a water park?" Deidara encourages, blinking his eyes sweetly.

"What do we have to lose," Itachi agrees, taking his phone out of the stand to let Hidan replace it. The directions are loaded in, the water park only twenty minutes away from them. 

The rest of the drive, Hidan hypes them up, playing upbeat songs that have them all either singing or humming along. Hidan knows they'll have to drive partly through the night, but it's worth it if he can push Itachi down a water slide. He has his plan ready to go. Butter him up with a nice relaxing soak in the lazy river. As they're drifting, he'll ask if he can pick the next ride they go on. In Itachi's dazed out state, he'll have no choice but to say yes. He fills Deidara in on the plan by texting him.

**To: deidei**

**we need 2 get 'tachi down a slide. gonna do the lazy river first n ask u guys if i can pick next ride. say yes so he will.**

**1:34 PM**

**From: deidei**

**didn't know u could could text, thought u only got a second grade education. i'll do it though! i wanna see him go down a slide!**

**1:35 PM**

**To: deidei**

**shut the hell up, i'll have u know i can read AND write.**

**1:35 PM**

**From: deidei**

**debatable.**

**1:36 PM**

Once they get there, Hidan rushes up to the ticket booth. Since it's a weekday, there aren't many people in the line. Hidan buys all three of them all access wrist bands, going into phase one of his plan. They head into the changing rooms and rent out a locker to put all of their clothes into. Hidan makes sure to suggest the lazy river first, making an excuse that it'll help with the hangovers.

Deidara and Itachi have no complaints, grabbing themselves a floatie. Hidan and Deidara stick their legs through and have their arms rest on top. Deidara rests his head in his arms, sighing in content. Hidan holds Itachi's floatie as he tries to sit down on it, legs above water, arms propping up his back. They float down the river, non caring. The water is slightly heated, reminding Deidara of a hot tub. He wonders if the park has any.

Hidan puts phase two of his plan in action as they're reaching the end of the river.

"Are you both okay if I pick the next ride?" He yawns.

"Sure, my man." Deidara sounds as if he's entered another plane of reality, voice airy. He looks over at Hidan, smirking.

Itachi waves his hand and nods, head tilting backwards.

Phase two complete.

Hidan leads them towards the 'Predators' Plunge.' They run up the staircase, doing their best not to slip. Hidan can feel his excitement building and turns to give Deidara a thumbs up. Deidara returns it, winking at him. They let Itachi go ahead of them so they can get him to go first. Hidan thinks he's going to be met with some resistance, _any_ resistance, but Itachi only stretches when they reach the top.

Deidara pokes Itachi towards the tube. A group of girls is on the side, daring each other to go down. They push and shove at each other, giggling. Once they catch sight of Itachi, they quiet down, whispering to each other. One girl tries to hide her finger that's pointing towards Deidara, a blush on her face. Another girl makes eye contact with Hidan and looks away quickly. She clears her throat and pretends to look at the sky. 

Hidan doesn't bother giving the girls a second thought, even though he feels eyes on them. He helps Deidara push Itachi towards the worker, but it doesn't seem like Itachi's trying that hard to get away. The worker goes through the rules, drawling on and on until finally, he opens up the door for the tube. Itachi climbs in, standing on the platform and putting his arms across his chest. 

The timer counts down from ten, building up any tension. Deidara and Hidan watch, enraptured by Itachi's straight face. Hidan mentally thanks the employee for not mentioning the little camera angling down at Itachi's face. The timer reaches zero, the platform opening up, sending Itachi flying down. There's a flash, and Deidara slaps a hand on his forehead for not being able to see Itachi's reaction. They both set their hopes on the photo.

The employee let's them know they have to wait at least five more minutes until they're in the clear to send the next person down. 

"They've been staring at us this whole time, hm," Deidara starts, side eyeing them, "I think they're into us, and I'm flattered, but not interested. It looks like she's about to come up to us. I don't wanna reject anyone, yeah."

"Well what do you want me to do?" Hidan whispers.

"Anything so we they know we're taken," Deidara hurries, the employee calling out for the next person.

"Alright, got it." Hidan grins, rubbing his hands together. 

They both make their way back towards the tube. Before the girls can walk up to them, Hidan cracks his right wrist.

"Go get 'em, Princess!" Hidan shouts right as he lands his hand on Deidara's ass. Deidara yelps, turning around to yell, but catches himself.

"Thanks, _babe_ ," Deidara grits out, hand on his ass.

He can hear a gasp from beside him. No one approaches them, especially not after Deidara sends Hidan a flying kiss through the glass before he's dropped down. 

He waits for his turn, standing awkwardly by the tube. Soon enough, he's being let in. He watches the countdown, timing his grin perfectly with the flash of the camera. His stomach drops and water hits him. He whoops in happiness as he's sent through the slide. He twists and turns, the cold water hitting his face. He puts his hands up like he's in a roller coaster, splashing into the pool.

Deidara and Itachi are already waiting for him when he pulls himself up from the pool. Hidan rushes into the little booth, eager to see the photos. He catches sight of his own first, priding himself in how good he looks.

Deidara's photo is him winking at the camera, smirk on his face.

Itachi's photo has Hidan and Deidara fuming.

He was able to keep a straight face, lifting one arm up to make a peace sign. It's perfect in every way.

"Damn it, 'tachi, you couldn't even _try_ to look scared?" Hidan turns to the person behind the booth. "I'll take three copies of each."

The rest of their time is filled with trying out every single ride they see. They go through the 'Constrictor,' taking a group floatie. By their third loop, Hidan groans that he's going to be sick. They try the 'Riptide Raceway,' competitiveness coming out to shine. Deidara almost cries when he wins, claiming that he 'finally beat the famous golden boy, Itachi Uchiha.' Hidan scowls when he realizes he came in last place.

They even try the more mellow rides, fully enjoying the slower pace.

Itachi checks the time after they get out of the wave pool. 

"We spent four five hours here," Itachi marvels.

"It's almost _seven_?" Deidara yells.

"Guess it's time to go!" Hidan pitches in.

They dry off and change, setting their swim wear into a bag. Hidan jumps in the passenger seat, watching as Deidara readjusts his seating. Hidan snickers.

"You should'a seen his face, 'tachi! Dei, your ass is a ten. The _sound_ that it made-"

"Why don't you shut up and make it even by letting 'tachi five star you, hn?"

Itachi looks at them questioningly.

"Fine, we can wait till Chicago. But I'm getting my payback, yeah."

"Sure, _Princess_."

Hidan and Deidara start up yet _another_ argument.

"If you both don't shut up for _two_ minutes, I'll five star both of you."

Hidan salutes.

"Yes sir, sorry sir!"

Itachi reaches for his neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was supposed to post this yesterday but uhhhh that didn't happen. as we can all see this is what happens when you deviate from your outline! i think most of the story will be seen from hidans side of things instead of alternating. example being the scene in the previous chapter where he realizes his feelings. i'm a bit disappointed on how some of the writing turned out yikes, they're probably all ooc at this point but i hope the piles of fluff i fit in makes up for it?
> 
> also please stay safe! it's a tough time right now but you can do this!


	6. Chi Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a stop at one of the biggest cities in the U.S.! Chicago!
> 
> Too bad things go south.

"There is no way you got on my ass for the Gaara body pillow when I just caught you drooling over Kakuzu, hm!"

"He's _hot_ , dei. Did you not see him absolutely wreck that guys shit in the newest movie?"

"He's, like, _three_ times your age!"

"And fuckin' _hot_ , did you forget that part?"

Deidara's face scrunches up in judgment. He looks away when Hidan attempts to show him pictures of Kakuzu on the red carpet. One photo catches his eye, though. 

"Wait, you might be onto something," Deidara admits. When Hidan turns to look at Itachi, who's knocking on his window, he sends the photo to himself through Hidan's phone.

Itachi gets back into the car and slumps his head onto the seat. He tips his chair back so he can partly lay down. Hidan and Deidara pause. They take in the slight bags under his eyes and the tired aura he's giving off.

"Hey, let's switch out," Deidara says soothingly, his hand reaching over to Itachi's shoulder. Itachi waves him off, eyes still closed.

"I'll be fine, just a slight headache, that's all."

"Doesn't matter, it's time for you to get some rest. You've been driving for almost three hours." Hidan frowns at Itachi. He tugs at his sleeve in an attempt to convince him. 

Itachi finally complies and gets out of the driver's seat, slowly making his way to the backseat. Hidan and Deidara pile out as Itachi slides in. His movements are sluggish. Hidan and Deidara look at each other with concern. They coddle Itachi, pampering him with blankets and spare neck pillows. Hidan runs into the gas station's store, the shitty neon light making his eyes burn. He grabs water and some medicine for the pain. He also makes sure to get snacks. When he climbs back into the car Itachi's already half asleep. He passes the water and medicine back, keeping the snacks in the plastic bag. He ties it up and passes it to Deidara to hold on to for the time being.

Hidan picks back up where they left off. He goes right at the speed limit so he doesn't make Itachi's headache grow. He's already asleep in the backseat. The water has a few sips taken out of it, no doubt from Itachi taking some of the pain relief medicine.

"Do'ya think he's gonna be okay?" Hidan asks.

"He'll be fine," Deidara consoles. "It's probably just car sickness or something. We've been trapped in this car a lot these past few days, even with the constant stops. Staying in Chicago for a few days will do us a lot of good, yeah."

Hidan nods, doing his best to believe Deidara's words. It's most likely a minor car sickness or common headache, but Hidan still worries. Itachi's condition has been stable for a while now, but they can never be too careful.

Hidan drives the rest of the way absentmindedly. He focuses on the road, only coming back down from his trance if Deidara wants to show him something. Deidara checks on Itachi periodically, just to make sure everything is in order. But even he finds himself being pulled in by sleep. He pats Hidan's arm in an apology, sinking into his neck pillow. Hidan only laughs and pokes a hand at Deidara's hair tie. He tells Deidara it'll be uncomfortable if he keeps it on, so Deidara pulls it out with a sigh. Minutes later, Deidara's out.

Though he doesn't want to, his mind goes to the garden. He's admitted his feelings already, and agreed with himself to not act on them. That much he's accepting. But he so desperately wants to say something. He almost wants to blurt it out. Not even for the fact of their reaction, which is something he doesn't want to _think_ about, but just for himself. To get it out.

He checks down at the map. He's already been driving for two hours. Only about three or four more hours to go. When he quickly checks on both Itachi and Deidara, he decides to make a quick stop.

Surprisingly, Itachi is sleeping harder than Hidan thought. Deidara only stirs before leaning his head back into the neck pillow. Hidan scrolls through all of the different hotel options. He knows they'll be staying there for a few days, and he wants to make up for that nasty ass hotel room they stayed in. He books a room up on one of the top floors of the hotel. It's still a standard room but they'll have a balcony and a fantastic city view.

Hidan is back on the road. He tells himself that he won't stop driving until Deidara wakes up. If he ends up driving the rest of the way he won't mind. His energy is still surprisingly higher than he thought it would be. Maybe it's the pure adrenaline, or the fact that he's going crazy, but he knows he can make it another few hours.

True to his thoughts, Hidan ends up driving the rest of the way.

He doesn't feel drowsy even when he pulls into the fancy parking space. Once he stops the car he takes off his seat belt and reaches behind him to gently shake Itachi awake. He does the same for Deidara, shaking his shoulder as lightly as he can.

"We're in Chicago. Hotel 's already taken care of," Hidan says while stretching. Itachi cracks his fingers, processing the information. Deidara immediately frowns.

"Hey, you were supposed to wake me up! _And_ , we could've helped with the hotel cost, hn," Deidara replies, slumping over so that his forehead rests on the car window.

"Aw, guess I forgot," Hidan grins, "let's go, I'm ready'ta crash."

They lug their suitcases into the lobby. The check-in is quicker than all three of them expected. The man at the desk tells them to go to the far left for the elevator. Once they pile in, Hidan presses the button for their floor number. Twenty seven.

Deidara marvels at how high they are, rushing to the balcony right when he sees it. He flings open the sliding door and breathes in deeply. Itachi sets his things down and joins Deidara on the balcony. They aren't in the heart of the city, but they're still in an area where the lights of skyscrapers can be seen. Office lights from every individual room shine through the tall buildings. There are billboards with ads of makeup and celebrities. Looking below, Itachi and Deidara find the bustling city life. Tons of people weave through each other to get to their destination, despite it being barely past five in the morning.

"Wow," Deidara breathes out, "you really picked a good one, Hidan."

"Glad you guys like it!" 

"Thank you," Itachi smiles, "I think we should take showers and sleep for a bit. Since we plan to stay here for more than a day I don't see the problem with relaxing for a bit."

Deidara and Hidan both agree. Even Deidara melts at the prospect of sleeping in a comfortable bed. He flies through his shower and dries his hair. Hidan and Itachi are discussing what they want to do when Deidara comes out.

They save making plans for later, sleeping their first priority. 

Hidan tries not to show his disappointment at the two queen beds they have instead of one king. Itachi and Deidara give Hidan one bed all to himself, claiming that he deserves it since he drove them the rest of the way _and_ paid for the hotel. He knows they have good intentions, but he wishes he would've been more alert when he was choosing the room. He accepts their offer though. He doesn't want to be rude, or weird. He doesn't want them to have any suspicions.

Hesitantly, he sets his things next to one of the queen beds. Itachi lets him take the next shower. He washes up, coming out to find Deidara passed out on the other queen bed. Itachi is staring down at him with eyes that Hidan can't read. He tries not to look too much into it, instead patting Itachi slightly on the shoulder to tell him it's his turn. Itachi nods and asks him to put Deidara under the covers.

It's a difficult task to get Deidara to wake up for even a second, but Hidan manages to get Deidara under the blanket.

Slowly, he moves over to his lonely bed, sulking.

He can admit the bed is comfortable, though. He sinks right into the mattress. 

Itachi opens the door, walking right in to see Deidara with the blanket over him, and a sleeping Hidan on the opposite bed. He silently regrets offering Hidan the bed to himself.

Itachi moves quietly, coming right up to Hidan's side. He doesn't bother putting the blankets on Hidan, knowing he's just going to kick them off. Itachi takes his shaking hand and moves a piece of Hidan's hair from his face. Hidan doesn't move, breathing steady.

They wake up at noon. Deidara, shockingly, gets up before anyone else. He looks over to his side and sees Itachi sleeping face up, straight as a board with his hands placed on his stomach. He turns his head again to look at Hidan, who managed to curl himself up in a ball.

It's the first time Deidara has seen Itachi sleep through one of his alarms. He pokes Itachi's head to wake him up. 

Once he's up, they look over to Hidan.

"You think he'll wake up if I drag him off the bed?" Deidara contemplates.

"If I'm being completely honest, no."

Deidara sneaks his way over to Hidan. He wraps his hands around Hidan's ankles, giving them an experimental tug. Hidan doesn't stir at all.

"Think you can open the balcony door for me, 'tachi?"

Itachi doesn't say anything, but complies anyway, quietly sliding open the door. The wind hits his face and makes his hair fly around. Instead of dragging him off the bed, Deidara scoops up Hidan in his arms as best he can. He doesn't want to stir him though, so every movement is done at a snail's pace. Since Hidan is already curled up, Deidara opts for carrying him bridal style.

He cradles Hidan's head to his chest, ignoring the feeling it gives him. Hidan's hair, as always, is messy and loose. They reach the balcony, Itachi standing off to the side of the room. He watches curiously as Deidara lowers Hidan down to the ground. Deidara sets Hidan right next to the railing. He looks over at Itachi and smirks. As fast as he can he slaps Hidan straight on the chest.

"Oh my god, Hidan! Watch out, yeah!"

Deidara runs to the door before Hidan can fully wake up. He shuts it and locks it, happy that the door locks from one side. He makes sure to keep the main glass door open, only shutting and locking the screen door.

Hidan's eyes flutter open. He's met with the cloudy sky. He looks to his left and sees the door. He hears the sounds of the city. He takes one look to his right and comes face to face with people and cars. Twenty seven floors below him. He jumps up, about to scream when he sees the railing. He processes that he's on the balcony.

Right away he flies to the door. He sees Deidara laughing on the other side.

"You _shithead_ , you're gonna get it," he says as loud as he can, pounding on the screen.

"This is payback for the water park!" Deidara shouts back at him.

Hidan makes a move for the door handle, only to find out that it's not sliding.

"If I try to open this again, and find out you locked it, I'm kickin' your ass."

" _I'm kickin' your ass_ ," Deidara mocks, dropping his voice a pitch and slurring his words.

Hidan tries the handle again, having the same result as the first time. He looks Deidara straight in the eye and drags a finger across his throat in warning. He finally sees Itachi come into view. Itachi pats Deidara's shoulder and tells him that it's time to get ready. Deidara sighs, but unlocks the door. Hidan swings it to the side, dashing towards Deidara. Deidara runs to Itachi and hides behind him.

"Protect me, hm!"

"I can't promise you that."

"Don't say that!" Deidara whines, wrapping his arms around Itachi's waist from behind.

"You're _so_ lucky you have a shield, Princess," Hidan interjects. He walks away from them, giving Deidara a side-eye.

Deidara sighs in relief, making sure to watch Hidan walk away fully before pulling away from Itachi. Itachi makes a mental note on the nickname 'Princess.'

They all choose some of their best outfits. They make sure to keep it light, but the weather claims to drop throughout the day. They could expect some rain too.

"Where to first?" Itachi asks.

"Why don't we just walk and go to a random place we find interesting?" Deidara suggests, clicking the elevator button. There are no objections, so they start walking down the city streets. 

They stop in mainstream clothing stores, browsing. None of them buy anything, though. Deidara complains that nothing in the stores fit his fashion. Itachi tells them he doesn't need anything, and Hidan follows suit. Soon enough, they find themselves lost. They don't know the street or direction they came from. In front of them stands a tall white building made of stone and marble. Written across the top sprawls the letters that spell 'Aquarium.'

"If we don't see any sharks I'm going to be very disappointed," Itachi says as he makes his way up the steps. Hidan and Deidara follow him, surprised that they didn't even have to say anything.

Though the tickets are more expensive than they thought, the amount of sections to cover is worth the money. 

Hidan runs through the halls, gazing in awe at the tanks. He makes sure to take as many pictures as he can of the fishes and sea creatures.

"I bet'cha only wanted to go in here because Kisame says he loves sharks," Hidan taunts, tapping Itachi's nose.

"You caught me." Hidan only laughs. A couple next to them shushes him, but Hidan only sticks his tongue out.

It seems like their time in the aquarium flies. They're in the wild reef before they know it. Deidara marvels at the different colors and breeds of fishes. He makes his way over to them, his smile not fully reaching his eyes.

"Sometimes I feel bad for them, you know? It's a big space to be in, but there's always going to be a wall for them, hn."

Itachi looks at him sadly. "I feel the same way when I think too hard about it. I just hope that they get well cared for."

"Must suck, though. It sounds selfish, but 'm glad I'm not a fish." Hidan twiddles his fingers.

"We all feel the same way whether we want to admit it or not."

They sit in silence, watching the fish and sea life move around. They hear the sound of water through the glass. People pass through the room, but they don't stop to take it all in. They're all out onto the next room before they can comprehend what they just saw. The three of them try their best to take as much as possible. The ridges and differences of every creature. 

It's calming to Itachi. He feels like he can stay in the room forever. All of his worries are fading away with each passing moment. He leans his head onto Hidan's shoulder. Hidan tries his best not to tense up, and instead pats his head.

"Don't fall asleep on us, 'tachi."

"We should get up and move on before I do," Itachi mumbles, swaying when he gets up.

They eventually make it to the end of the aquarium. They opt to stay away from any of the touching exhibits. Deidara asks for a cute picture by the jellyfish. 

When Hidan walks out of the door, he feels drops of water on his forehead. It's not raining hard, but the swirling storm clouds seem to be getting darker.

"Should we just run to get Chicago style pizza and go back to the hotel?"

Deidara and Itachi nod at Hidan. They run to the nearest pizza place, but Deidara finds that Itachi has slowed down. Hidan is already inside the restaurant ordering the pizza.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." Itachi brushes him off, and Deidara winces. He doesn't press further.

The rain gets heavier as they near the hotel. Hidan made sure to ask for a bag to cover the pizza so the box doesn't get soggy. Even he notices that Itachi's lagging behind. He slows down.

"Yo, 'tachi, you doin' good?"

"I'm _fine_." Itachi's voice comes out more snappy than he thought it would. Hidan looks at him funny, saying a small 'sorry' and picking up his pace again. 

Itachi starts swaying even more when they get into their hotel room. Deidara and Hidan share a look.

"Look, 'tachi, we're just worr-"

"If you're going to say _anything_ about it, don't." Hidan doesn't want to dig a hole, but he finds himself getting angry alongside with Deidara.

"You don't have to be so fuckin' mean," Hidan bites back.

"And you both don't have to bring it up. I'm doing fine. That's it." Deidara's mouth turns into an angry frown.

"We're just worried about you. I don't understand why you're acting like this all of a sudden, yeah."

"Can you guys please just drop it? I'm just still tired from all the driving we did."

"Drop-"

"I'm going to take a nap," Itachi says flatly. He doesn't listen to Deidara and Hidan's yelling. He goes over to his bed, lays down under the covers, and closes his eyes. He tries drowning out any conversation by pressing his head into the pillow.

"Usually I'm not this reasonable, but I don't like fightin' with you guys-"

"Can we just be quiet for a second, Hidan? Please?"

"Okay."

A few minutes later, Deidara speaks up. It's the last conversation they have for the rest of the night.

"Can I sleep in your bed? I think he needs to be alone."

"Okay."

"Thanks."

"Mhm."

Hidan isn't exactly sure what just happened, but he doesn't want to start any more unnecessary arguments. He doesn't think they've had an actual fight in years. Especially not about Itachi's health. It's unsettling how much Itachi wanted to ignore their concerns.

They spend the rest of the night without talking. Itachi seems to be sleeping, while Deidara scrolls through his phone. The tense atmosphere hasn't left the room. 

Deidara goes to sleep early. Hidan can hear his phone shut off and the rustling behind him. He's wide awake. He wants to wait until he knows Deidara is sleeping. 

Hidan doesn't know how long he waits, but he finally gets up from the bed and takes out two bottles of water from the mini-fridge. He sets one right next to Itachi on the beds shared nightstand, putting the medicine by it. He sets the other bottle on Deidara's side of the nightstand. The pizza sits uneaten on the table. He can't bring himself to try a slice. It seems like the argument took away his appetite.

No alarm is set, so Hidan takes initiative. He knows he'll sleep through it, but hopefully it helps the other two wake up.

He knows they have to talk it out, and he wants to give them time to calm down. He's not mad at either one of them. Itachi may have snapped at them, but he gets it. He knows how much Itachi hates it when they mention anything related to his illness. Knows that Itachi doesn't want them to connect every little cold or injury to it. He wants them to pretend he doesn't even have it. 

It's hard to see him brush something off so easily though. While Hidan knows not to jump to conclusions about things like tiredness or swaying, the concern will stay in the back of his mind forever. He never wants a repeat of high school. 

It takes him some time to fall asleep. When he checks his phone for the last time the clock reads that it's two in the morning. He should get some sleep, but his mind is too full. He gets up and goes to the balcony, sliding the door closed behind him as sneakily as he can.

It's still raining when he steps out. There's no cover above the balcony, so he lets himself get wet. Lightning flashes above him. He's able to see the intricate design of the trails of electricity in the sky. Hidan counts after the flash, waiting for the thunder. He gets to ten.

His clothes are soaking and he's getting cold, but doesn't make a move to leave.

He doesn't notice that the door slides open until he hears a voice.

"What are you doing out here?" Itachi's voice is low from just waking up.

Hidan turns to him.

"Just wanted some fresh air."

"I feel like we need to talk."

"You should wait for dei."

"You're right. But I wanted to apologize to you. I didn't mean to snap at you, I just got angry. I'm so lucky to have people who care about me so much. I just didn't want it to tie into _that_. I seriously feel fine. I think I just got woozy after the car ride."

"I get it, 'tachi. 'S okay. We can tell if it's serious or not, we just worry too much. You were swayin' all over the place and we panicked. You just need to let us help you sometimes, 'kay?"

"I know." Itachi looks down at the ground below them. His hair is sticking out in different directions. "I'm sorry again, Hidan. I am. I'll work on it."

Hidan pretends to think hard, putting his fingers on his forehead.

"The jury decides to graciously accept your apology." He cracks a smile at Itachi.

"That's the biggest word I think I've ever heard you say." Itachi's smile mirrors his own.

"Hey!" Hidan lunges for Itachi. He wraps him up in a hug. Itachi returns it immediately.

"Didn't know this was a sappy romance movie." Deidara's voice cuts through the rain.

Itachi unwraps himself from Hidan and pads over to Deidara. Hidan thinks they're all going to get a cold. The rain is only getting worse. His clothes are drenched.

"I had no right to act that way when you were trying to help. I'm sorry. I was just-"

"It's okay, 'tachi. I forgave you the minute you went to bed. You know how stubborn I am. Just let us take care of you when you need it, yeah?"

There's not much for Itachi to say.

"Yeah, okay, I will. Thank you both."

"Look, Hidan, he's getting sentimental again."

Itachi laughs while he gives Deidara a hug.

They stay on the balcony for a while. They're freezing, but they can't help but enjoy the rain. 

Hidan wraps his arms around them, pulling them close.

"So I was thinkin'..."

"Already not a good sign." 

"Shut up," Hidan swats Deidara, "anyways, I found this really pretty observation deck that lets you see the city."

"The glass one?"

"Yeah, that one! And I feel like we should go!"

"It's glass, isn't it? What if your fat head weighs us all down and makes the glass break?"

"We have a balcony, dei. You _could_ die a horrible death."

-

"Hidan, _stop_." Deidara wails, trying to stop Hidan from jumping again.

"Just trying to get you ready for the main event."

"The more you talk the bigger your head gets," Deidara taunts.

Itachi chuckles behind them. They get to the top of the elevator. Hidan jumps one more time, making the whole elevator stop for a second. It shakes, and for a second Hidan thinks he's finally broken it. It lurches back to life, opening up its doors. Hidan sighs in sadness. 

"Next time the elevator _will_ be broken."

They step out into the lobby, taking in the line. It stretches through the lobby and loops around several times before reaching the front of where they're standing. Hidan groans.

"Are we going to wait this long?" Itachi questions.

"We came all the way here, we can't back out now. We even paid the stupid fee to go into the glass box."

Hidan complains about the wait but makes no move to leave. He can hear screaming from in front of him. No doubt people who are too scared to step onto the glass but were forced to by friends or family. 

"Society is a social construct created by certain humans to uplift their own selfish desires in life."

"Don't start that you sound fucking dumb."

"If society were ruled by people with different beauty standards and morals our comprehension would be thoroughly changed." Itachi plays into Hidan's thoughts, slipping in random words.

"Not you too. If society were ruled by _me_ , you'd both be at the bottom of the scale."

"Aw, thanks, Princess."

The line has is moving faster than they thought it would. Most people only stay for a few minutes to see the view before taking their pictures and their leave. Or, they chicken out before they can get on the glass. Hidan sees a girl shake as she's led onto the glass floor by someone. Before she can reach the platform she jerks her arm away, running back onto the tiled flooring. Hidan snickers and moves up one spot.

When Hidan reaches the front, he steps aside so Itachi can hand over the tickets. Unfortunately, the lady at the front tells them that jumping or banging on the glass in any form is prohibited. Deidara thanks her, taking the first steps into the box. It's jutting out from the building itself, a thick glass wall covering every side. It's only about four feet out, but it's enough for all three of them to step onto. Though Hidan isn't afraid to do a lot of things, seeing his feet on clear glass overlooking stories upon stories of free-falling air makes him hesitant to move.

Deidara and Itachi are already pressing their hands up to the biggest wall. Itachi's pointing out the aquarium they went to the previous day, or a landmark he saw on his phone. Hidan is still behind them, scared to move.

Itachi tugs at the front of his shirt to make him move up more.

"You're scared?" Itachi asks quietly, trying to talk low so that Deidara can't hear. Hidan mentally thanks him for it.

"A little bit," Hidan whispers.

"Just start talking about something random and you'll be fine."

"I have a _huge_ surprise for you two when we get to Cedar Point," Hidan blurts. There's no way he can catch himself now. He needs to come up with something before they get to Cedar Point. At least he made it onto the platform all the way.

"Are you finally going to confess your undying love for me, hm?" Deidara jokes, flipping the hair of his ponytail with his hand dramatically.

Hidan goes pale but forces out a laugh. Deidara only says that he's 'looking forward to it,' and that's where the conversation switches.

They make the lady that took their tickets take a group photo of them. The sky is still dark from the storm previously, but they haven't had rain all day. The flash of lightning catches everyone in the room off guard.

"Looks like that's our cue to leave." Itachi ushers them out and onto the elevator.

-

"We _had_ to pick the two days it rains to stay here." Deidara drags his feet across the pavement. They were able to buy an umbrella to share, but they all have to squish under it.

"I'm sure we can find something to do, dei. Or we could go to the hotel room and watch a movie?" Itachi suggests. Deidara lights up.

"Howl's Moving Castle."

"Totoro," Hidan scoffs. "We always watch Howl's Moving Castle."

"Itachi," Deidara whines, "what do you want to watch?"

"Ponyo."

"What."

"We're watching Ponyo like real men."

Itachi assumes their silence is their acceptance.

"Can I hold your hand if I cry?"

A small chuckle. "Sure, dei."

Silence.

"Me too?"

"Yes, Hidan. You can hold my hand too. Cry babies."

Deidara smacks a kiss onto Itachi's cheek. The freezing feeling he had while walking through the rain seems to disappear. Hidan slides a hand onto his forehead.

"I think you broke him."

"Kiss it better, then, hn."

Hidan grins and kisses the other side of Itachi's face, right below his eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah, the first part of the chicago trip. if the writing is all over the place it's because i don't have a set writing style i'm so sorry. plus i may or may not be in a state of delirium. i'm SO late there were just so many bad things that happened at once and my ceiling falling through just really took the cake :'') hopefully now i'll have more time to write! also cut scenes. SORRY AGAIN ILL TRY HARDER NEXT CHAPTER!!! please take care of yourselves!
> 
> yo... that lil smut chapter has been sitting in my drafts for quite a little bit.


	7. You Don't Look All That Exhausted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally, finally make it to their end goal. Cedar Point.
> 
> Now starts the game. Who's caving first?

Though Chicago is a city filled with countless things to do, Deidara can't find _one_ thing to put on his list. They've already seen the aquarium, and they've viewed the city from the sky deck. They've shopped around and seen some landmarks. In one way or another, they've already seen the _main_ attractions Chicago has to offer. Itachi visited Chicago when he was fifteen, toured Millennium Park, saw Cloud Gate. Deidara saw those things when he turned seventeen. His parents gifted him a trip to the city to see the art museum there. And Hidan, he's just not interested in things like that.

So that leaves the question. Do they stay or do they go?

Deidara and Itachi are already out of the hotel room, waiting in the car for Hidan to finish up the check out process. 

"I feel like our trip's mood has been down lately, so I think I'm going to go clinically insane so that it'll spice up our drives."

"Dei, are you sure you're okay? You stayed up three hours after Ponyo ended crying about friendship. Personally, I don't think it's the _main_ basis for humanity."

"But it _is_ , 'tachi!" Deidara deflates. "I think we've been bored and I think it's finally time to head to Cedar Point."

"I have no problem with that and I'm sure Hidan doesn't either."

Right as Itachi finishes his sentence Hidan opens the passenger seat and chucks in his backpack. He cracks his neck after he puts his seat belt on, sagging into the chair.

"Alright," Hidan sighs with closed eyes, "where to next?"

"Me and 'tachi were thinking we should finally head to Cedar Point! Not only is it the designated random destination, but I also really, _really_ , want to see your surprise, yeah."

"'S good to me, but don't get your hopes up, it's not that special." Hidan still has no idea what his _surprise_ is supposed to be.

He figures he'll make it something simple and stupid. He already told Deidara that it wasn't special, so something like 'I already got us the Cedar Point passes' should do. Now that Hidan thinks about it, it seems like a perfect idea. He's been saving up for the longest time. He's worked multiple jobs since his sophomore year in high school. Besides spending it on useless things that now collect dust in his parents' basement, probably in a box, he's accumulated a decent sum of money. Getting three Cedar Point passes shouldn't be too much.

Deidara starts up the car and backs out slowly from their spot in the parking lot. Since they recently got gas, there's still a little under half a tank left. It's about five hours to Cedar Point, so Deidara figures he'll refill when it reaches under a quarter.

They stop to get ice cream, per Itachi's request. The ground is damp, and Itachi can still smell the rain. His windows are down as he devours his mint chocolate chip ice cream. With sprinkles.

He pulls out the journal, noting how there's a new page with some of the polaroids they took from the garden embedded in it. There are captions right next to them. In his picture at the koi pond, he assumes Deidara wrote the word 'beautiful' next to it. It makes him flush, but he keeps his face neutral. Hidan's picture has 'crap bag' in big, bold letters next to it. Itachi blows air through his nose, fighting the urge to laugh. He flips back a few pages to where the lists are. He would still very much like to go to a concert. And, he would love to go paragliding, or zip-lining. He's sure he can bring it up sometime.

He flips to one of the last pages. He sees 'confess' scrawled in his own handwriting. Even if Deidara and Hidan read it, they shouldn't have caught on. He wishes he could get the courage, but it'll have to stay a mystery word for now.

"What roller coasters do you want to go on the most?" Deidara questions. It's for both of them, but Hidan lets Itachi go first.

"The Valravn. I heard the drop is a full ninety degrees."

"I wanna go on that one too! Plus the obvious choice bein' the Top Thrill Dragster."

"Isn't that the really tall one, hm?" Deidara remembers seeing a video once on how if you get lucky, the roller coaster will roll back and they'll let you have another shot for free. A ride and a half.

"Yep! We can do so much there, guys! I wanna go on every single ride."

"I'll go with you, but I'm not getting on the wooden ones."

"Scared, Princess? Look, 'tachi, he's scared." Hidan teases. Deidara takes his closest hand to Hidan off the steering wheel to yank Hidan's hair.

"Keep talking, go ahead, yeah, see what happens." There's a playfulness in Deidara's tone.

-

"Two polaroids next to the giant inflatable thing? And you're telling me you want another one."

"Absolutely."

"Dei, Hidan, we're in the middle of a car dealership."

"And we wanna take a picture of you next to the wiggle dude."

Itachi slides into frame right next to the cheesy blue inflatable thing that has what he's assuming is hair? He thinks it resembles a pencil. The camera goes off when he flashes a tiny peace sign. Deidara makes a sound of happiness when the polaroid comes out. He holds it gently in his hand as they wait for it to properly develop. They had stopped halfway through their trip to get lunch when Deidara saw the car dealerships inflatable tube man. He quickly decided it would be a great photo opportunity.

Itachi can feel his excitement bubble up the closer they get to the amusement park. He's never been before, and he feels as if his attitude this whole trip has been too calm. His inner feelings rival that of Hidan's chaotic persona, but it's hard to get them across physically through his words or tone. He wants to yell, to scream. He wants to smile and laugh more often.

He'll work on it.

-

"What I'm saying, you idiot, is that putting emphasis on different words in a sentence can change the whole meaning, hn."

"Putting the what."

"Hidan, take this as an example. When I say 'I _didn't_ screw him,' what do I mean?" Itachi pushes himself up slightly from the backseat to get closer to the front.

"That you didn't screw the dude? Who're we talkin' about?"

"Well, yes, but I'm not talking about anyone in particular, it's just for the example."

Deidara cuts in. "So if 'tachi said ' _I_ didn't screw him,' what does that mean?"

"That 'tachi didn't screw anyone, but someone else did?" Deidara can feel Hidan's brainwaves try to process the information.

"Exactly, yeah! Like I said, you can change the meaning of a sentence based on how you say a word in it."

"Didn't know this would turn in'ta a language lesson," Hidan grumbles. He doesn't even remember how they got to this point. They only have an hour left before they reach their destination.

Hidan puts on a movie from his phone. He complains that his neck is cramping from having to angle the phone for Itachi to see. Deidara rolls his eyes and tells him to crawl in the backseat so they can both see it easier. Hidan feels bad for leaving Deidara in the front alone, but he reassures him that he wouldn't be able to watch anyways. Hidan pauses one more time when he's halfway into the backseat to look back at Deidara. Deidara laughs and shushes him, pushing his ass into the backseat while his other hand drives.

Hidan yelps as his hands plant on the seat, his legs falling through to rest at an awkward angle on the tiny car floor. Itachi offers up his hand. Hidan takes it and hoists himself up. The bags that usually take up some of the backseat were either moved to the floor of the car or squeezed into the trunk.

Through the movie, Hidan finds himself distracted. He keeps glancing up at Itachi's stoic face. He cracks a smile or a laugh occasionally, but he reverts to his normal emotionless face. It doesn't look sad, though; it looks like he's relaxing.

The movie ends quicker than he thought it would. The credits roll as Deidara announces that they're thirty minutes away. Hidan slumps over, phone in hand, onto Itachi's lap. His head rests there, and he shuts his eyes.

"Think I could use you as a pillow for a sec?" Hidan asks, waiting for the invitation even though he's already propping his legs up on the rest of the seat that's free. Itachi puts his hand on Hidan's head in silent permission, and it's enough for Hidan. Though he doesn't completely fall asleep, he rests his eyes and focuses on Deidara's humming. 

A scream juts him out of his peaceful relaxation.

"We're finally fucking here! Wake up, bitch! Rise and shine!" Deidara stops the car and rushes to turn to the backseat, stinking a finger out to poke at Hidan's nose.

"'M up, 'm up, shithead."

"Alright good, hn! Get your energy back up! We're in the parking lot and we need to figure some stuff out! And you need to show us your surprise!" It's almost too much for Hidan to process at once, but the mention of his surprise has him up and blinking.

"Oh yeah, that," he starts, "I, uh... bought us all our passes already. That's it. Surprise?"

"No fucking way."

"Yes? Fucking way?"

"How much did it cost, Hidan."

"Not that much, swear. Jus' wanted to appreciate you guys. Or something."

"Hidan..." Itachi's voice trails off. 

"No, none of that shit. Just be grateful my surprise wasn't a fuckin' cockroach or something."

Deidara laughs, loud and hard. Itachi can't take his eyes off him, and neither can Hidan. Deidara mentions the hotel, making sure Hidan knows he's not paying for anything else. They look around for a bit at different places, but they end up going with a little cabin. Something special to commemorate their final destination. Instead of rooms next to each other, it's a row of tiny cabins that overlook the lake right next to the amusement park. The cabins are separated at least fifteen feet away, so it'll feel like they have their own house. If they look out the back balcony, they'll see the ferris wheel of the park.

It's perfect.

Thankfully, despite the summer bringing in heaps of people, they go on a weekday. They want to check out the cabin first, so they make a beeline out of the parking lot and down the road. Not even three minutes later they're pulling into the front gate. They get their key to the cabin as well as an extra confirmation check. Deidara and Itachi have the hotel booked for three nights.

While they're driving around, they see children of all ages pulling their parents along to try and get them to leave faster. Each cabin has a one-car parking space. They have to go through a side section of the park to make it to the cabins. They see all of the roller coasters and the stands stacked with carnival games and food. The smell of food wafts over to them. Hidan thinks he's drooling. 

They get to their cabin number. 1423. Deidara runs into the cabin and gushes over everything. Hidan pulls Itachi out by the wrist and bolts just like Deidara had. He's excited to see where they'll be staying. Itachi trips up behind him, trying to stay caught up. A collective 'woah' rings out in the room.

All of the walls are made out of wood. There's a sofa and a TV set on the bottom floor, with a kitchenette right past it. There's a small set of stairs leading up to the bed, which is like a loft. There's a balcony that overlooks the living area down below. The bathroom is through a door in the kitchen. It's small, but it's cozy. Homey.

They love it.

After looking through every crevasse and corner they can, they find themselves in the backyard balcony. The windows next to the door are huge. Hidan pushes the door open, the others following behind him. It's a small patio set up with chairs, the lake right in front of them. 

Though they would love to spend the day lazing around their newfound paradise, they know what their goal is.

-

" _Don't_ chicken out on us," Hidan says, dragging Itachi along past the entrance. Their gold bands sit securely around their wrists.

"I'm not going to chicken out, I think I just need a little motivation," Itachi responds. He's generally not a nervous person when it comes to things like roller coasters or thrill rides, but seeing everything in person makes him giddy.

"C'mon, 'tachi, you said you wanted your high school self to come back out, didn't you?"

"Hype me up," Itachi complains, "I can't do this with just reminders."

" _Wow_ , go get 'em, 'tachi!"

"You're so _hot_!"

"And brave!"

"Smart!"

"Built!"

"You guys are so annoying," Itachi puts his head in his hands. He's smiling though, so it's a point to Deidara and Hidan.

When they enter the gates, they're met with a huge directory. On their right and left are little merchandise shops with tacky t-shirts and too many knickknacks. While Hidan looks at the directory to find out where to go first, Deidara and Itachi goof off on the side. They find a stupid statue of a bird a few feet away and decide to take pictures of it. Itachi finds himself gasping for air when Deidara tries climbing on the bird, only to fall off.

"Think I got our first ride gu- What're you doing?"

"We were just taking pictures, go ahead!"

"Okay, so, the Blue Lightning is supposed to be a really tame roller coaster that's meant to start you out for the bigger ones. I think buildin' us up will work out perfect."

"No more time wasted then, hn! Let's fucking _go_!" Deidara takes them both by the hand and runs in the direction Hidan was pointing in. They go into a little alleyway that emerges into a waiting line for the roller coaster. There's only one big drop, which in comparison to every other coaster, is tame. Other than that, it's just bumps. A big oval of waves.

The line is fairly long, but their passes can make them skip the line and go into the section of the line that gets to go first. Though there are still some people with the same passes in front of them, they get first priority. 

Everything's going according to plan until they realize that there's no mandated seating. It's one cart that they have to squish into.

"Is this even safe? I'm not convinced we can all squeeze into one."

"Stop trying to get out of it, 'tachi, we're gonna find a way to fuckin' squeeze."

"Language, hm. There are children around."

"I'm sure they all hear their parents say it, they're _fine_."

"I'll make sure you never have kids."

"Mini Hidan's running around," Itachi considers.

Their turn comes up right when Itachi stops talking. They're adamant about squeezing into the one cart. There's only a strap around their waists and a metal bar that they hold onto. Even the worker gives them a questioning eye when they all struggle to buckle in the belt. It's obvious the car is only equipped to handle two people at most. With some manpower, they hear the click and sigh in relief. It's tight, but Hidan convinces them it makes them safer.

The torturous climb is slow. A little girl starts crying in the cart behind them, begging to be let off. Her mother tells her that it's not an option, and she bawls even louder. Itachi is in the middle. His hands try resting on his lap, but every clink from the coaster that signals they're getting higher makes him anxious. He weaves his arms through Deidara and Hidan's. Deidara grins and Hidan feels his stomach lurch even though they haven't felt the first drop yet.

Itachi squeezes his eyes shut when they get to the top. There's only a fraction of a second before they plummet down the small hill. Itachi doesn't know if he's screaming or not, but he hears Deidara's yell on his right and Hidan's laughing on his left. His hair is being blown back, his stomach doing spins. He knows the buckle is in, but it feels as if he's going to fly out if he lifts himself.

He focuses on the arms that are woven between his. He doesn't even know the ride is over until he feels the buckle being taken off. He's smiling so hard his teeth are showing. He hasn't felt like that in a while.

"Next."

"Huh?"

"Next ride. Right now."

"Knew you would like it, 'tachi!"

Itachi zips off the ride, Hidan and Deidara right on his heels. The next ride they find they immediately jump into the line. 

It's called the Corkscrew, and from what they've seen, it'll hold up its title. There's a line of loops that follow one after another. Deidara swallows. He hopes he doesn't puke.

The line is much shorter than the first ride they went on, leading them to believe this is one of the less liked rides in the park. Hidan's determined to try every ride he can get into, no matter how crappy it ends up being. This one is no different. As long as they get the thrill from it they can't count it as a loss. Itachi makes a point of rating the rides in the journal. Deidara keeps tabs on his phones notes, ranking the Blue Lightning a five out of ten. They put their belongings in the box and head to the seats.

The first drop is much higher than the previous ride. It only takes a little while to climb up, thankfully not giving Deidara enough time to overthink it. They go through a series of different twists and turns. It gives off the expected feeling of weightlessness, but it doesn't kick as hard as they thought it would. Even the sideways loops have them feeling tingly, but not shocked.

Right as they get off, Deidara rushes to get his phone out of the box.

"I really thought I was going to puke, but that was nothing."

"Change the Blue Lightning and make it a three. This one a five." Itachi decides.

"Got it."

They walk around for a bit but notice it's much darker than when they came in. The sun is already starting to set, and most of the guests head for the exit. They make their way to the gate, calling it a day. The guard tells them to save the wristbands for future use. They thank him, and Hidan makes sure to blow a flying kiss. The man looks in shock as they walk off.

-

"That wasn't as good as I thought it would be, yeah. Color me disappointed."

" _Color me disappointed_? Who says that, dei," Hidan rants, crossing his arms.

"Don't insult my vocabulary, gremlin."

They're squished on the one couch in their cozy cabin. It's well past dinner time, but they spent the hours after they left the park picking somewhere to eat. By the time they noticed it was pitch black, they were thirty minutes away from the cabin. Itachi had suggested they get Sonic. It's one of the most popular places to get food when visiting Cedar Point. The burgers were delicious, and Hidan ended up stealing Itachi's spare cheese sticks. A cartoon plays on the TV while they finish up the rest of their late dinner. 

One by one, they wash up for bed. For once, Hidan suggests they go to bed early. 

The upstairs loft bedroom is minimally decorated, but it has a cute painting of a bird hanging above the headboard. Since it's a loft, the ceiling is low, making the bed come down too. 

It's the most comfortable bed any of them have ever seen. When they flop onto the mattress, Deidara feels himself sinking into memory foam. Itachi squishes his head onto the pillow and passes out. No words are spoken as Hidan uses the rest of his energy to pull the blankets over them. He's close to kicking someone, and there's a hand stuffed right under his pillow, but it all meshes together.

He wakes up in the middle of the night. Someone must have elbowed him in the jaw because it's sore and uneven. He opens and closes his mouth a few times before getting out of the bed to get a glass of water. He pads over softly to the water dispenser. 

He makes his way over to the balcony door. It's chilly outside, and there's a soft breeze. The moon is partly covered by clouds. They look like they're swirling around lazily. He has some time to think. It keeps on popping up in his brain, so he'll finally acknowledge it.

He needs to get it off his chest. He needs to tell them.

It's getting harder and harder for him to keep his composure around them. He finds himself looking too long, leaving a hand lingering more than it should. Though he knows they've probably caught on, even just a little bit, he wishes they were clueless. Every interaction has his mind spinning. It's never been this bad before, but he almost let the words slip out of his mouth more than once. The only rational part of his brain that's left is able to convince him to not go through with it.

They would think it's weird. Liking two people, two best friends, even. He couldn't see it any other way. He has so much care to give to both of them. Maybe even love.

He throws his earlier deal with himself out the window. He's going to say something. If they don't accept him, that fine. It's fine. If it gets awkward, he'll just drive himself into the lake, never to be seen again.

Maybe he'll do it tomorrow. He's never been one to dwell on things, especially not feelings. It's not confidence, but it's enough to push him to set up a plan.

A really cheesy, shitty, last-minute plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AJJJJJJJJJHHHHHHHHH the energy i have is unreadable. i've been so busy but i'm figuring out how things will work with all the stuff i'm doing and i think i've got a handle on my motivation though this chapter is a LOT late. i didn't have anything else to write about in Chicago, so I just skipped straight into the main event!!
> 
> have a good day or night and please stay safe!


	8. Love Like You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hidan is in the process of planning out his funeral. With every step, he feels like backing out.
> 
> Things never go as expected. Hidan believes it's divine intervention. From Jashin, of course.

"You're crazy if you're not going out in shorts. You'll burn into a crisp, hn."

"I don't have any shorts," Itachi says, his sentence trailing off at the end.

"Take these." Hidan throws a pair of black shorts at him. They're a little loose on his hips, but it's much better than the dark blue joggers he would've had to put up with. He pairs it with a white shirt, and he's good to go.

Hidan is putting on his backpack while Deidara finishes putting on some chap stick. The park opens up at ten, and thankfully, by some miracle, Deidara had woken up first. When Hidan and Itachi refused to get up, he stood on the edge of the bed, waiting to jump. His forearm landed straight on Hidan's back. It was enough to have them both running to the bathroom before Deidara could cause any more damage.

Now, here they are, piling into the car. 

Hidan goes through his plan over and over again while he's driving. Spend the day at the park, normally. Save the ferris wheel for the end of the day. Wait for it to reach the top, and confess in an elaborate manner. If he can. It's fifty-fifty if his brain will work hard enough to get him not to stutter through his words. At any sign of denial or rejection, jump off the ferris wheel and onto the ground. He reminds himself to pray to Jashin before he jumps off so he can use himself as a last sacrifice. He doesn't plan out any other possibility. He's aiming low. It all checks out.

"What are you thinking about, 'dan?"

"Nothin', just spaced out."

Itachi raises an eyebrow, but nods. He can tell something is up, and Hidan needs to get him off that trail _fast_.

Since their cabin is part of the park, they barely drive five minutes before reaching the parking lot. Deidara jumps out of the car and double-checks everyone's wrists to make sure the bands are still there. Instead of taking them off, Hidan forced them to keep them on even while showering. Thankfully it's plastic and not a flimsy paper. 

The same security guard from the day before is working the line. They have fast passes, but the wait to get in is still the same. The man recognizes them right as they get up, glancing at their wristbands and letting them in with no problem. Hidan winks at him this time.

"Please don't tell me you're trying to hook up with the security guard, hm."

"Nope! Just trying to make him recognize us so entrance and exit is easier."

"Smart," Itachi adds. He pulls them and starts bolting.

They explore before picking a ride to go on. They choose the Gemini, which is the first wooden roller coaster they go on. There are two rows of carts. Red and blue. The people setting up the ride tell them it's a race between the carts. Hidan chooses red, and Deidara chooses blue. Itachi opts to randomly select, picking blue after going through a random picking process. Hidan boasts about how his color will win, and the two of them make sure to lean forward even more to push the carts faster. Itachi hangs on to Deidara's hand the whole time as he closes his eyes and enjoys the feeling of flying.

In the end, Deidara and Itachi's row wins. Hidan calls cheats, and they rate the ride a six out of ten. While the racing aspect was fun, Hidan claims that the drops weren't special.

They hit the Raptor next, which hangs them on the rails instead of being on top of them. They rate it much higher than the Gemini, but they're still looking for the bigger drops. They're still building themselves up for it.

Compared to the previous day, there are many more people waiting in the lines. The amount of people who have fast passes make Itachi feel like they're back in the general ticketing. The lines span farther than the rails of the waiting area. They loop and curve around. Still, they wait. It takes up most of their day, but getting to experience every ride is worth it. They wait an hour for the Twist. Deidara almost throws up when they roll forwards and backwards. 

They slowly make their way up to the bigger rides. One quick lunch break of corny food. Corn dogs and fries. 

Deidara looks into his phone and sees that they've been on seven rides. They've all been the lesser liked, more kid friendly rides. Now, they're kicking it up. They're going on the Gatekeeper.

"I'm scared shitless," Hidan says, laughing into his arm. The gap is closing faster and faster.

"My leg is going to smack into the keyhole when we pass through it. I _know_ it." Itachi takes a deep breath. Deidara is the only one who seems okay with the ride.

"I like that we're going to dangle off the side, yeah!"

"You're fuckin' insane."

"Stop being dramatic," Deidara responds, "I've seen you wake up 'tachi, and that's about the worst task brought upon any human being. You're still here."

"It was early in the morning, of course I was mad." Itachi swats at Deidara. Deidara notices that Itachi is finally starting to loosen up, and he smiles to himself.

When they get on, Deidara sits on very edge. Itachi is in the middle again, while Hidan takes up the seat on Itachi's right, closest to the platform. Definitely not because he was too scared to be on one of the outside seats. The solid ground under his feet makes him feel just a little better.

Climbing up the first drop, Itachi starts feeling the last minute nerves kick in. When he looks to his right, he sees the lake, and Deidara grinning. He's not even paying attention to the ride. Then he looks to his left and sees Hidan. His face is a mixture of shock and fear. Hidan turns to him in a silent plea. Itachi offers up his hand, and Hidan snatches it.

"What the fuck, what the fuck, what-"

Hidan's chant is cut off by the drop. Deidara can hear Hidan screaming at the top of his lungs. Itachi's in the same boat, but his yell shows he's enjoying it much more than Hidan.

The first side loop takes Itachi by surprise, and he starts laughing. The genuine joy he feels is something he's been trying to find for a long time. It's not just the roller coaster either. 

He makes sure to do his best to keep his eyes wide open, though the wind is making it hard. They come to the first keyhole, zipping right through the middle. Itachi watches as they already approach the second keyhole.

After that it's just a series of more loops and turns. Hidan seems to finally enjoy the ride without a look of impending death on his face. Deidara continues to let the ride hype him up. 

Then Deidara remembers the ride takes a picture in the second tunnel they pass through. They fly towards it, and Deidara tries coming up with a quick reminder.

"Say cheese!" They go into the tunnel, and see a flash of white. He's too busy with the adrenaline in his system to properly check if Hidan and Itachi were able to pose for the picture. He knows it'll be the first thing he runs to.

When they safely get off the ride, after several minutes of trying to get Hidan not to throw up, they head straight for the booth. Itachi laughs when their picture is pulled up.

Deidara looks absolutely ecstatic as he makes a heart with his two hands, hair flying back, eyes slightly squinted. Itachi's right hand is occupied with Hidan's, but he uses his free left hand to flash yet another peace sign. Hidan, however, has his eyes screwed shut. His free hand is halfway up, weakly trying to hold up a 'rock on' symbol. His terrified smile is what sells it for Itachi. Like at the water park, they buy multiple copies for memories.

"I dunno who the fuck that was, but it wasn't me," Hidan claims, trying to defend himself.

"Now I wonder who was it that suggested we go on _all_ the tall coasters, 'tachi?"

"Hm, I really do wonder who?" Itachi plays along.

"Shut the hell up," Hidan growls.

Deidara smacks the back of Hidan's head playfully. "We're just messing with you."

Hidan only grumbles, and they're back on another random path. The shock of the drops has Hidan's mind drifting away from nerves. Itachi perks up when he sees the Matterhorn. While generally a kids ride, it's a popular among people from all age groups. No one can physically get on the ride and not come out smiling like an idiot. It's too fun to be squished together, unless you're alone, propelled forward around in a circle at a high speed. Whoever is on the outermost side always gets most of the weight from whoever they're with pushed onto them.

Thankfully, this ride is made to handle three people per cart. This time, Hidan is on the outermost side. The bell rings and pop music plays loudly as they start picking up speed. Hidan's body automatically squishes onto the rail. He can feel Deidara's body pressed up tightly against his, and the weight of Itachi's on top of that. Itachi and Deidara have their hands up in the air. Hidan's are on the side rail, trying to prevent himself from getting too squished. Deidara throws his head into Hidan's shoulder, laughing into his neck.

Hidan's panic meter, which he thought was thoroughly contained, spikes.

He considers himself a very _honest_ individual. He used to be such a rude little shit in high school. He didn't care who he offended, or what flew out of his mouth. Itachi and Deidara were in the small circle of people who could put up with his constant attitude. They never took any mean insult to heart.

When he got to college, it toned down considerably. He was still terribly blunt, and that scared a lot of people away. That and his very _deep_ devotion to Jashin.

This version of him is drastically different from the person he was a month ago.

He dares to think it. He's gone _soft_.

While that thought used to disgust him so much, he feels absolutely no remorse while Itachi's hand snakes around both his and Deidara's backs to hold onto the railing right next to him. He feels no remorse for the way Deidara's laugh feels against his neck. He's getting goosebumps.

He's whipped; so whipped it's not even a laughing matter. They broke down his tough persona without having to do as much as smile in his direction.

And again, it's the fact that he doesn't have a single fucking _ounce_ of regret.

That scares him.

-

"You're telling me that you like Valravn better than Millennium Force? You're fucking with me, yeah," Deidara says, offended.

"And what about it, blondie?"

"Don't you dare bring that stupid nickname back. I thought we agreed that was staying and _dying_ in high school!"

"I can't remember agreeing to anything." Hidan smirks at Deidara, who flips him off. 

The sun is almost starting to set, and they've been waiting for almost two hours to get into Top Thrill Dragster. For some reason, Hidan feels strangely calm as he stares up at the monster of a ride. A twenty second ride with a four hundred foot drop. Maybe his brain is going into autopilot so he doesn't throw up when he thinks about the ferris wheel. The human brain is a very interesting thing.

Itachi slaps Hidan's back.

"We're up." His voice sounds dead serious. Hidan chuckles. Itachi must be trying to hype himself up by acting cool so he doesn't piss his pants.

Even Deidara, who has no problem with heights, hesitates to walk onto the stairs. 

"Now or never, hm." Is the last thing Deidara says before marching up to pick a seat.

Unfortunately, there's only two seats per row. Itachi volunteers to sit behind them after protesting from both Hidan and Deidara.

They take the very front two rows. It seems as if the rest of the passengers with them aren't brave enough to take front row. Hidan, with mock confidence, snaps in all the seat belts without any wavering. Deidara, to his right, follows suit, with minimal shaking. Itachi, sitting next to a teenage boy who looks like he's about to projectile vomit everywhere, buckles everything slowly.

After several checks from the staff, they move forward a bit to stop right behind the light that signals when their takeoff is. Deidara can't take his eyes off of it. He darts out to grab Hidan's hand, crushing it.

"Shit, man, calm down!"

"I'm gonna die. You're gonna die. 'Tachi's gonna die. We're all gonna die oh my god-"

Hidan gives Deidara's hand a firm squeeze.

"Hey, we're right here with you. It'll be fine Princess."

Deidara's eyes go cloudy, and he says a small thank you, but goes back to mumbling.

"You good?" Hidan screams, turning his head back.

"Yeah." Itachi gives him a thumbs up and a small smile.

Hidan's turning around as Deidara mumbles different profanities.

"Hey, 'tachi, can you make out what he's saying?"

"Not a clue."

The lights suddenly go from red, to yellow, the green. They whip towards the climb up. Deidara is screaming with every vocal chord he has in him.

As they're climbing up, Deidara opens his eyes. He can't feel his own body, but he can see the whole park ahead of him. He can make out the clouds and the different hues of colors adoring the sky. The sun is setting in oranges and yellows. His heart acts before his brain can, and he's shouting it like it's the last thing he's ever going to say. Like he's going to die. He repeats it like it's the reason he's still alive.

"Damn it, I'm in love with you guys!"

Hidan's ears go deaf. His eyes go wide.

They drop. 

Itachi's insides are thrumming.

Hidan can't breathe.

Hidan's hand is still connected with Deidara's. It only lasts about five seconds, but the beating of their hearts combined with the coaster is almost too much. 

The ride is over. They roll to a stop. All of the other passengers get off, excited to talk about the ride. The three of them sit there for a minute. The worker asks them politely if they're okay, and they take it as a cue to finally get off the ride. 

They stay silent the whole way out. Deidara's head is looking towards the pavement. They walk, no destination, until they reach a small corner of the park where benches sit under trees.

Deidara speaks first.

"Listen, forget what I said, I'm sorry-"

"You beat me to the fucking punch."

Deidara pauses, confused.

"Huh?"

"I said, you beat me to the fucking punch. I had a whole plan set up and ready but I just had to throw it straight out the window and into a dumpster fire."

"It seems like we all had the same idea." Itachi finally says, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Hidan's not sure if it's real life, but he's going along with it.

"I'm not sure if I follow-"

Hidan doesn't waste a second to walk straight up to Deidara, gently putting his hands on either side of Deidara's face. He leans in without warning, pressing their lips together hard enough to make their noses smash into each other. Deidara can't even focus on the pain.

Hidan pulls away a second later, and turns to Itachi, repeating the process, which Itachi happily accepts.

Hidan pulls away to stare at Deidara.

"Get it now, Princess?"

"I didn't think-"

"Ah, guess I'll have to make it clearer then."

Itachi walks up right next to Hidan and follows suit, gently kissing Deidara.

There's still hesitation. Denial that everything that's happening is just a dream. But in no time Deidara is wrapping his arms around Itachi's neck, one hand on the back of his head. Hidan watches with so much joy that he's sure his jaw is unhinged completely and his eyes are glazed over.

"Looking stupid as always, huh." Deidara wastes no time in teasing him. 

"Who confessed their undying love for who first, though?" Hidan shoots right back.

"That ride was scary as shit who wouldn't confess?"

Itachi puts an arm around both their shoulders and starts walking. He heads towards the exit, promising Hidan the ferris wheel can be done tomorrow. They still need to talk things out, after all. And the park is closing. Hidan attempts to hide behind a bush, doing his best to convince them to stay the whole night so they can explore. Deidara smacks the back of his head on their way out.

-

After they eat their cup ramen, an impulsive buy, they all cram onto the tiny couch in their cabin. Itachi starts.

"So, you both like me," a nod, "and I like you both," another nod, "and you like each other," one final nod.

"Anyone have any objections?"

"Can't say I do, though I was wondering if we could just test the waters and see how it goes, yeah? We can see how the dynamics work."

"I'm okay with that," Hidan agrees, "it'sa lot to navigate and figure out."

Itachi hums. They all snuggle up against one another.

"When we slept together in that shitty motel bed I think I almost shit myself."

"Hidan, you didn't get any of my subtle flirting?" 

"Dei, I'm stupid, you know that."

"It's alright, Itachi didn't get the hint either, and he's practically a genius."

"Damn, maybe your 'flirting' was really that unnoticeable," Itachi says.

Deidara leans all of his weight on Itachi, hollering. He punches the air with his fists. Hidan gets up and lays his head on Itachi's lap, torso on Deidara's, reciting his own dramatic woes. They get Itachi to join in, who dramatically tells them what he remembers from their drunken conversation. 

They don't have all the details planned out, but in time they hope they'll develop into something that'll make Hidan's insides want to say the famous 'L' word.

"So uh, is sex still on the table?" Hidan says slyly.

"Not if you don't take a shower first, it's not," Itachi responds dryly.

After all the laughing, they all go silent, watching whatever house flipping show is on.

"Official title as boyfriends, right?"

"No way else to do it, babe." Deidara instantly flushes at the nickname. 

Itachi mumbles some sort of garbled response, most likely agreeing. They both carry him up the stairs and into the loft. Hidan strokes Itachi's hair as Deidara gets the sheets ready. He's fast asleep now. When Hidan sets him in the middle, Deidara flips on a lamp and turns off all the rest of the lights. He climbs in right after Hidan does. 

This time, they don't hesitate to hold each other. Hidan rests his arm over Itachi's waist, cuddling up to his chest. Deidara, on the other side, does the same, putting a hand around Hidan's forearm. Deidara gets comfortable, nose pressed into Itachi's neck. 

Hidan can hear Deidara's breath steady almost instantly. He still doesn't think it's fully processed in his head yet. He might suddenly wake up and realize that none of this ever happened. 

He wants to scream at the top of his lungs, but first he needs to thank Jashin for letting him have this opportunity. 

For once, he falls asleep with no worry of what may happen the next day. 

He's so whipped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow it's already gone this far, huh? i really would like to continue this for as long as possible, so I'm trying to map out plans for the future future. way past cedar point! i'm so sorry if this was really, really short. i had to set it up for the next chapter, wink wink. ;) it was also just my birthday so i was out for a while!
> 
> thank you so much for reading and please stay safe!


	9. Squinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three of them ruin any happiness the room service had of clean enough bed sheets. Also, more at the wonderful amusement park!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry abt this one lads

It's the next morning that it happens. They all got up relatively early so they could get to the park earlier. They planned the previous night to get ready quickly so they could be first in line for all the rides. They want to go on some rides one more time before they have to leave.

Too bad the curtains are still closed.

It's too easy, thinking of Deidara and Itachi as his. He hears Deidara and Itachi talking next to him, but he doesn't make a move to get up. There's hands on him, trying to yank him out of his semi-sleep state. It's easy, seeing them laugh when they catch sight of his hideous bedhead. Hidan moves his hand to cup Deidara's face. He snakes his other hand to place it on top of Itachi's.

They all stare at each other in silence, waiting for something to happen. He knows they're all thinking about the same thing. He knows they want it. Deidara breath is irregular, like he forgot exactly how to breathe. Their eyes bore into each others, wanting and needing the tension to be snapped. They've only started their relationship. It might be going a bit too fast, but Hidan's been in love for years and he's finally sure they share the same sediment. There's no time like the present.

There are suddenly two sets of hands on him. He falls back onto the bed and closes his eyes. They roam everywhere. Up his shirt, in his hair, down his leg. He can't tell which is which, the hands are moving far too fast for him to tell. He feels a pair of lips gently press onto his collarbone. Itachi. Hidan sighs, letting himself indulge. Now, he can match hands to person. Deidara's hands and roaming on his stomach; Itachi's are carding through his hair.

It's a lot to take in at once. Hidan doesn't know how much more he can take before he starts convincing himself once again that this is all just a dream. His thoughts are cut short when he feels someone's lips press against his own. He still keeps his eyes closed, everything in him screaming that it's Deidara. He opens them slightly and the blonde hair confirms his suspicions. 

He presses back, leaning his head up off the bed slightly. Deidara laughs into his mouth, pausing for a second to pull away. Hidan opens his eyes with a displeased look.

"Morning breath," Deidara teases, "we all have it, yeah."

"Want me to brush my teeth first?" Hidan snips back, smiling slightly. Deidara only shakes his head.

"Too impatient," Deidara says, taking Itachi's hand and dragging him closer to Hidan.

Itachi takes that as silent permission to press his own lips against Hidans. It's in a way more controlled, more composed. Hidan leans up more, using his forearms to prop himself up as the kiss becomes more heated. He decides to play his luck, darting his tongue out to run across Itachi's bottom lip. Itachi's breath hitches, getting cut short when Hidan slips his tongue inside Itachi's mouth. Hidan looks sideways at Deidara, who looks enamored by their little show. His cheeks are flushed fully red.

Hidan and Itachi continue their kiss, Hidan fully sitting up to put his hands on Itachi. One behind his neck and the other on his thigh. When they break apart for air, Hidan pulls Deidara into Itachi, signaling them. Hidan thinks he's the luckiest man in the world. It's hot. He can't help but groan lightly when he sees Itachi tug on Deidara's hair. They both look over at him at the same time. Deidara's smirking.

"Hands and knees, Hidan," Deidara says, coming in closer.

"Wait, wait, you wanna top me?" Hidan raises an eyebrow, "no way, you're a total bottom, dei."

Itachi nods in agreement.

"What the hell, not you too, 'tachi! I'm a switch, hm!"

"So am I, but there's no way you've topped anyone in your life!"

"Have too!"

"Have not!"

"Deidara, Hidan, we both know I can top you both."

"Bullshit!" Hidan and Deidara scream at the same time.

They argue for a little while longer, the mood still there, but more lighthearted. They try to find a good balance between their preferences, though all three of them have made it quite clear that they're fine with whatever direction.

"C'mon, just lemme top you guys," Hidan says, leaning his back against the headboard, eyes closed. Suddenly there's a dip in the mattress next to him and a hand running down his thigh, dangerously close to the tent forming in his pants. He throws his head back and it bangs against the headboard. His eyes fly open, and he sees Deidara there, grinning. Itachi comes up behind Deidara, sticking his arms up Deidara's shirt, raking his hands up Deidara's stomach. Deidara hums, low and wanting. 

Hidan let's it hit him that Deidara had always been there to care for them. Braiding their hair, lending them his clothes, playing therapist when one of them needed to rant. He comes up to Deidara's front and leans his mouth right into Deidara's ear, whispering loud enough for Itachi to hear. It's not like he wouldn't hear anyways, Itachi's pressed so closely to Deidara's back.

"You're always doing so much for us, dei. Let us take care of you for once," Hidan whispers slowly, making sure to take in every expression Deidara makes, "just let us take care of you, babe." 

Deidara whimpers, head falling forward to rest on Hidan's shoulder. Itachi presses a kiss to the side of Deidara's neck. Deidara is swaying slightly, unable to comprehend what's happening. He tries to protest. He wants to tell them that he wants to be the one to make them feel good. The words slip out of his mouth as he's gently turned and pushed back into the mattress. His head hits the pillows with a small thump. They don't give him a warning.

Hidan yanks up Deidara's shirt, making Deidara lift his arms to take it off. His mouth latches right under Deidara's bellybutton, so close yet so far. Deidara's back arches are Hidan sucks on the one area, most likely turning it a pretty shade of purple. Itachi licks a stripe up Deidara's stomach.

"Woah, hn, what's gotten into you?" Deidara says playfully, gently putting his hand on Itachi's head. Itachi grins.

"Guess the 'fun' Itachi is making an appearance, huh," Itachi jokes along, kissing along Deidara's neck, making him moan softly.

Deidara feels his pants being pulled off, making a new wave of arousal swim through him. No time is wasted as his underwear is ripped off too, Hidan coaxing Deidara to lift his hips up slightly. He's fully exposed to the other two, and finds himself a bit self conscious. 

"Beautiful," Itachi breathes, eyes fanning over Deidara as if he's trying to commit the image to memory.

"Damn right," Hidan adds. Deidara flushes at the praise.

Hidan's hand is on his cock before he can reply. Deidara gasps at the sudden friction, a loud moan following after. Hidan slides his hand up and down, running his thumb over the tip and twisting. Deidara jerks, hand trying to blindly find Itachi's. When it does, he threads his fingers through Itachi's and squeezes. He's panting, short breaths resonating with Hidan, telling him he's doing a good job. Deidara doesn't think it can get any better until he feels something hot and wet run up his cock.

"Oh god- fuck," Deidara moans, free hand flying into Hidan's hair. Hidan keeps up his ministrations.

He swirls his tongue around the head, humming when he feels Deidara's hips twitch upwards. Deidara's eyes are screwed shut tightly. It's too much, too suddenly. He feels Hidan lick up and down the side of his cock, hands keeping his hips in place. Itachi leans down to whisper in his ear. His fingers are lightly raking up Deidara's sides.

"Does it feel good, dei?" Itachi asks. Deidara whines, nodding his head up and down.

"Feels good- really good, shit," Deidara manages to get out. Hidan comes up for a second, making Deidara groan at the loss of contact.

"Wanna switch, 'tachi?" 

Itachi doesn't need to be told twice, moving into the space between Deidara's thighs that Hidan had just been in. He lays on his stomach, getting comfortable. He can hear Hidan and Deidara kissing above him, but he focuses on the task at hand. He grips the base and dives in. He tries taking in as much of Deidara as he comfortably can. Deidara moans into Hidan's mouth, gripping at Hidan's shirt. He tries hooking his hands under Hidan's shirt in a silent plead. Hidan laughs, but pulls his shirt off anyways. Deidara gently tugs at Itachi's hair, signaling him to stop for a second. 

"No fair, you guys still have your clothes on," Deidara pants.

Hidan slips off all the rest of his clothes in an instant. Deidara whistles. Itachi's not too far behind, stripping completely before settling back in between Deidara's legs. He gets right back into what he was doing before, swirling, licking, sucking every area he can get his mouth on. Deidara's legs try to close on instinct, but thankfully for Itachi, Hidan straddles Deidara's waist, prying his legs open. Deidara's head slams back into the pillow, an incoherent sentence trying to form.

"Close- I'm- fuck, can't, gonna-"

Itachi only picks up the pace, taking all of Deidara's cock into his mouth, bobbing his head up and down. Hidan turns on Deidara's waist so they're face to face, letting go of Deidara's legs. He sucks bruises into Deidara's neck. Deidara opens his eyes, locking gazes with Hidan. Hidan smirks and runs a hand through Deidara's hair, which has fallen out of it's pony tail.

"Go ahead, babe." 

That's all it takes for the coil in Deidara to finally, _finally_ snap. He comes _hard_. His back arches and he tips his head back, moaning loudly as Itachi takes in everything down his throat. Deidara's mind goes blank as he rides out his high. He feels like he's floating, jolts of electricity going through him. Itachi pulls of with a pop, making sure he looks Deidara in the eye before he swallows. Hidan gasps.

"What the _hell_? That had no right to be as hot as it did!"

Itachi laughs softly, pressing a kiss onto Deidara's thigh. Deidara twitches, still oversensitive.

"Your turn. Hidan comes last. I'm still pissed off about yesterday, yeah," Deidara says.

"You're still stuck on that, babe? I'm sorry for the slingshot, I really am," Hidan apologizes, getting off of Deidara's waist.

"No amount of apologizing can drown this one out, hn. Anyways, go ahead."

Itachi doesn't say anything, eyes lidded, as if he's still trying to process the situation. Hidan speaks up for him.

"Like I said, there's no _way_ I'm gonna bottom. C'mon 'tachi, let me help you," Hidan says, sticking his hand out in invitation.

He thinks he's going to be met with a hand, but instead the hand is on his chest, pushing him down. His eyes widen in surprise as Itachi leans over him. Deidara scoots over to make room, smirking. Hidan is fully laying down; Itachi has his hands on either side of Hidan's head. He looks down, face stoic.

"You say you want to top, but I think this time should be different, _babe_ ," Itachi says slowly, mocking Hidan's pet name. Hidan gulps, the word 'babe' coming from Itachi's mouth having full effect on him.

"Wait- But I wanted to-" Hidan gets cut off.

"Deidara, can you get me the lube and a condom?" Itachi asks offhandedly, like he's not turning Hidan's world upside down. His body feels hot all over.

Deidara passes him the bottle with a grin and a 'have fun,' to Hidan. Before Itachi can open the bottle, he pauses.

"I don't want to do anything you're not comfortable with. I'm clean, I know you're clean. I just want to make sure you're okay with me doing this." Hidan's heart flutters. It's cute how much he cares.

"I'm all good! Don't worry 'bout me, you can keep going, 's just that I don't do this often," Hidan confesses. He's shocked at himself that he complied so easily. He makes a note that there are plenty of times in the future for more adventurous situations.

"I'll go slow." Hidan nods, looking at the small bottle. He leans his head back onto the pillows, getting comfortable. 

There's some murmuring, but Hidan's already zoning out. He's nervous, but he's excited. A million thoughts are racing through his mind. He's scared he'll fuck up, but he trusts Itachi. His neck is flushed red, only getting darker. He's about to tell Itachi they can switch when he feels a mouth on his chest.

He melts, hands going to grip the sheets next to him. The poor room service.

Hidan cranes his neck to look up. He's met with blonde hair that's trailing lower and lower. The same time Deidara puts his mouth on Hidan's cock, a finger is pushing into him. He moans, trying to get used to the feeling. Deidara's mouth helps him get passed the weird sensation. He doesn't know how much time passes, he just tries to focus on all the things he's feeling. Deidara doesn't hold back, trying to take him as far down as he can. He doesn't know there are two fingers inside him until Itachi brushes against something.

Hidan startles, thighs shaking. 

"Found it," Itachi says, his voice like silk, "good?"

He's asking Hidan, but Hidan can't find the words.

"Good- keep going- more." It's all that he can get out before Itachi brushes over that spot again and again. The touch is purposely light. Hidan tries his best not to cry out. He almost forgets he's not in a hotel. Technically, he can be as loud as he wants. The cabins are close together though. He doesn't want to scar his neighbors too much. All his thoughts of keeping quiet fly out the window as Deidara goes harder. Deidara is humming against his cock. He pulls off for a second and it sounds like he's laughing. Itachi is still keeping up his pace, three fingers added in.

"Stop- wait- stop!" Hidan groans, "want you, babe."

"We should get you like this more often, _darling_ ," Deidara teases, pressing a kiss to Hidan's cheek. Itachi's fingers pull out of him. He's nervous again.

Deidara talks him through it. Itachi rolls on the condom. He goes slow, and there's a bit of a stretch, but Hidan knows he can handle the pain. As Itachi sinks in Deidara praises him, compliments him. He tells him he's beautiful like this. It's not nearly as bad as he thought it would be. He's done this before. Deidara kisses him through it, raking fingers through his hair. Itachi bottoms out, his hips flush with Hidan's ass. He starts off slow, setting a steady pace.

"Tight," Itachi rasps. It sends a wave of confidence through Hidan. Though he isn't technically on top, he wants to see how far he can push Itachi.

"Feel good, babe? You can go a bit faster, y'know."

"Don't want to hurt you, _love_." Hidan lets out a breathy laugh at the new pet name. He won't admit that he likes it, though.

"C'mon, gorgeous, wanna feel you." Hidan shifts his hips, making Itachi moan lightly. He sees Deidara grab something, bringing back a pillow in his hands. He pats Hidan's hip, motioning for him to lift it up. He slides the pillow under his hip, the new angle easier for the both of them. Itachi sets a faster pace and brings his arms up to wrap under Hidan's shoulders. He keeps shifting, trying to find something. Hidan jerks as Itachi hits his prostate. It sets him on fire.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck- right there, there-" Hidan babbles, looking up at Itachi. He tries to clear his head. He wants to break Itachi's calm and collected persona.

"Don't hold back. _N_ _eed_ you, babe." Itachi loses his composure, setting a brutal pace. Hidan's fingers dig into Itachi's thighs. He spurs Itachi on, the words tumbling out of his mouth.

"You're so good, 'tachi. So good for me." 

Itachi's hips stutter, losing his rhythm. Hidan looks to his side. Deidara's eyes are hazy, taking in the show in front of him.

"You gonna show him how good you are, 'tachi? I know you're close. C'mon, yeah, _let go_ ," Deidara breathes out, reaching to place a kiss on Itachi's shoulder.

"Hidan first," Itachi grits. Deidara goes to protest, but coos at him.

"You wanna feel him come around you, golden boy?" 

Itachi bites his lip almost hard enough to draw blood, suppressing any noise that was about to come out. Hidan isn't going to have that.

"Make those sounds for us, babe. Wanna hear you."

Itachi pants and buries his head in Hidan's shoulder. The position shifts Itachi forward even more. Hidan wraps his legs around Itachi's waist, drowning in every sound he hears coming from Itachi's mouth. He turns his head to give Deidara a uncoordinated kiss.

"I know we came here for the roller coasters, but what if, just _what if_ , we stayed here the whole day, hm?" Deidara says through lazy eyes, twirling a piece of Hidan's hair with his finger. "We have a whole cabin to ourselves. I checked and no neighbor to our right, and the people on our left are out right now. Plus, I may or may not be ready for another round." _That's_ interesting information.

Hidan notices that Itachi's pace had slowed down. He really doesn't want Itachi to hold back on him. He wants to commit every kiss, every touch, every movement to memory. He wants to remember the way Deidara's fingers feel when they brush through his hair. Or how Itachi's arms are holding him like he's going to fade away if he let's go even for a moment.

"Fuck me." Hidan can hear Deidara inhale sharply beside him.

Itachi doesn't hold back, resuming his pace with no warning. Hidan doesn't try to cover up his noises anymore. He wants to spur Itachi on. He tries to move his hips again, but one of Itachi's arms unwrap from his back, placing itself over Hidan's waist. It's exactly what Hidan needs. It makes him gasp.

"Don't stop- don't you _dare_ stop- so close."

Deidara sees his opportunity and takes it. He fits a hand through Hidan and Itachi's bodies to grip Hidan's cock. Hidan shakes, arching his back off the bed. Deidara swipes his thumb across the tip, other hand holding Itachi's arm. 

Hidan's tips his head back and moans, vision going white. He doesn't know what words are coming out of his mouth, but he knows he keeps repeating their names over and over as he comes. Itachi fucks him through it, cursing when he feels Hidan clench around him. Deidara's hand is still working him through it. His head is spinning. Then he remembers.

"Please, 'tachi, please-" Itachi sucks in a breath, muffling his moan in Hidan's shoulder. Hidan can feel him shaking. Deidara strokes Itachi's hair as he rides out the rest of his orgasm. 

"Wow," Deidara says, "encore, encore."

They all laugh, taking a few minutes to calm down. Hidan and Itachi feel the bed dip.

" _I'm_ going to take a much needed shower." Itachi grips Deidara's wrist before he can leave.

"You're not going anywhere. You said you were ready for round two 'n it's _your_ turn to get dicked down," Hidan says.

Deidara let's himself get tugged back onto the bed.

-

"Are you sure it's only eleven? I'm sure we wasted half our day," Deidara says, stepping out of the bathroom.

"I wouldn't say _wasted_ , babe. I think it was a perfect use of our time." 

"Right, because sharing the shower was definitely for saving time purposes." Itachi joins in, drying himself off.

"That and I wanted 'ta stare at your asses."

Itachi almost pushes him down the stairs. After getting changed, they go to the kitchen for some water and a quick snack. Hidan refills his cup three times before letting out a satisfied sound. Deidara spits out his water when he sees Hidan trip over air as he makes his way to the front.

They go as quickly as they can, but Deidara and Hidan limp lightly.

"You really did a number on me, huh?" Hidan grins, winking at Itachi, who flushes.

"A day into our new relationship and we already fucked, hn."

"Don't tell me you're complaining. Hate to say it, but I've been horny for like, forever."

"I'm sorry you were left high and dry, you poor baby," Deidara teases, petting Hidan's hair.

Hidan scoffs and opens the door so they can step out. Itachi climbs into the drivers seat while Deidara climbs in next to him. Hidan barrels into the back, yelling at them because they're wasting too much time.' Itachi goes slower on the path out just to make Hidan mad. Hidan doesn't even bother putting his seat belt on, opting for sticking his head in between the two front seats. 

They spend what's left of their day going on rides one more time to give a more accurate rating. They play a few carnival games, but Deidara gives up after the first one, the ring toss. He swears to them it's rigged. Itachi and Hidan step up to play, snickering at Deidara's failure. They quickly find out that they're in the same boat. Even Itachi's precision skills don't land a single point. The girl working the booth only shrugs and smiles at them coyly. Hidan steps up one more time, ready to throw all his money away. Itachi yanks him back before he can spend any more.

They play what catches their eyes, alternating between competing and cheering.

Hidan picks one of the most well known carnival games; the high striker. Hit the platform on the bottom as hard as you can to get the bell all the way up so it can ring. Deidara and Itachi ask Hidan if he can get them a giant stuffed animal.

He winds up his arm, giant hammer in hand, and slams it down with all the strength he can summon. Hidan knows it's most likely rigged, but he wants to impress his new boyfriends. The little bell shoots up and hit's the top, making a _ding_. 

Deidara jumps up in excitement, hands on either side of Itachi's back. The grin on Itachi's face makes Hidan's aching arm worth it.

They waste no time in picking the dumbest stuffed animal they can find. They go for the shark with the dopey smile. Itachi offers to carry it.

Several games later, Hidan points out a cotton candy booth. He orders three swirled cotton candies. Itachi holds his with his free hand. Deidara laughs at both Itachi and Hidan for being messy eaters.

-

The sunset is a whole spectrum of swirled colors. Besides the oranges and warm toned colors, there's a pink and purple tint, along with the light grey dusted clouds. The sun isn't hiding behind any clouds, showing itself off fully. 

They sit up at the top of the ferris wheel, looking towards the lake that's right next to them. 

Deidara's arms are outstretched to hold the hands across from him. He looks over at Hidan and Itachi briefly, adoringly.

Itachi is engrossed by the view in front of them. Hidan turns slightly to meet Deidara's gaze. He gives a goofy grin to Deidara, smile lighting up his face. 

"I'm really glad we got to go on this trip together, hn," Deidara says, eyes sparkling.

"Us too," Itachi responds, squeezing their hands.

"Imagine how long it whould'a took to confess if we didn't do this." Hidan tuts and shakes his head. "Years."

"And we all owe it to the Dragster and dei's inability to keep his mouth shut when he's scared." Itachi smirks teasingly.

"Oh what fucking ever, yeah."

They admire the way the sun goes down slowly, painting the water in a reflective rainbow. 

"It's gonna be hard to adjust again when we get back. Jobs and school."

"We'll make it work, babe."

"We always do, 'tachi. Just think! Fall dates, cider mills, pumpkin carving, haunted houses, Halloween! Couples costumes!"

Hidan gasps, ideas already forming in his head.

Though it's going to be scary trying to fit back into their normal lives, Hidan knows he has two very capable, very _hot_ individuals by his side. He can already imagine every single date, late night talk, and anniversary.

The ferris wheel lurches back to life, rolling down. 

"Time to go boys, say your last goodbyes," Deidara says woefully, burying his head in his hands dramatically.

Hidan chuckles, spinning and twirling on their way out, digging out acting skills from the one play he did in high school. It's bittersweet, leaving something they'd gotten so used to. It was only for a short time, but Hidan imagines exploring the world for the rest of their lives. An old and grey Deidara who dyes his hair will want to travel to Rome to see the architecture and sculptures. Itachi will want to visit Nara, Japan for the deer. He himself will pick stupid landmarks like 'world's largest scythe,' or 'best pies in the world.'

They're right outside the gates when Deidara stops.

"What's the holdup? Don't tell me you're crying," Hidan smiles.

"We need a picture!"

They once again terrorize another poor stranger with their request to take a group photo of the three of them. The stranger doesn't mind taking photos on both the phone and the polaroid. There are so many at so many different angles. Hidan looks through his camera roll, scrolling down to see all the other pictures they took either before playing the carnival games or before going on a ride. They were even able to get a polaroid on top of the ferris wheel.

They agree to split the physical photos. Half will be split evenly between the three of them while the other half will get pasted in their journal. 

-

Hidan doesn't even bother getting ready for bed. He gets into the cabin, goes up the stairs into the loft, and falls onto the bed. The only thing keeping him awake is the constant padding of footsteps that seem to be getting closer to him. 

Someone pats his back, signaling him to sit up. He just _can't_. Deidara snorts from somewhere behind him, fumbling with his clothes. 

They manage to take off his pants and shirt. He hears them taking off their own day clothes, discarding them somewhere on the floor. Soft hands travel across his back, pressing down lightly. Hidan let's himself snuggle deeper into the mattress while he's receiving the mini massage. A slightly calloused hand traces fingertips up and down his arm. 

Though Deidara has silky smooth skin, his hands are constantly working, creating art. He's doing freelance, and he manages everything himself. Hidan never got to see him do anything specific besides staying over Deidara's apartment while he worked on a sculpture for school. There were always packaging materials laying around ever corner of the apartment.

Maybe now he and Itachi can help. He's always seen the freelance artists' studio vlogs, and he's invested in the packaging logistics of it all. He may be considered dumb by most, but he thinks the cute thank you notes are a great investment for business.

Itachi's hands continue to knead his back, until pain shoots through his body. 

"What the hell was that for?" Hidan yells, a hand still planted on his ass.

"Fat ass. Have you been doing more squats recently?" Deidara questions, laying down so that his face is close enough to Hidan's squished one. He perks up instantly.

"How'd you know? I guess it has been payin' off."

"To _bed_. We have to leave in the morning." Itachi shoos them further into the bed so their heads rest on the pillows.

"The sheets aren't clean though," Deidara whines.

"Take a shower in the morning, Princess. You'll _definitely_ need one by the time morning rolls around," Hidan flirts.

"Minus ten points for the frat boy flirting."

" _Damn_."

Itachi sandwiches himself in between them. 

"That one was horrible, make it fifteen," Itachi advises. Deidara snickers.

"Fifteen it is."

"Guys, c'mon, it was good!"

"Good night, Hidan," they both say.

Hidan finally gives up.

"Night, babes."

None of them go to sleep immediately, though Hidan just felt like he would pass out.

"As much as I love it, can you get the shark plush out of the bed, please? 

Itachi kicks it off with his leg. Nothing else needs to be said as they snuggle up together again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yuhhhhhh get into itttttttttttttttt  
> i know i yacked at least three times. the evidence of this misdemeanor will stay with me for the rest of my inadequate, meager life. 
> 
> thank u to the main glizzy shakespeare for creating literature.
> 
> haha hope everyone is doing good ;:^)


	10. Back Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fateful trip back home to reality. The start of the snapshot of their way back to California.

Technically, Hidan was able to walk away with not only a significant amount of treasured memories, but also a new relationship. 

He still feels a hole in his heart though.

It's the morning they have to leave. They wake up, another morning of tangled limbs and sore body parts. They need to get out before one so that the cleaning service can come in.

It's finally time to go back home, to a job, to school, potentially.

The trip in hindsight had seemed so short, but it felt like a whole chunk of their lives. Over a week of traveling the country, stopping at different attractions, and confessing a lot of things. It's surreal to know that close to two weeks ago they were all working, visiting each other occasionally. They had all gotten so busy, even with summer break, that group hangouts were rare. Now, having spent so much time together, Hidan doesn't know how they're going to function when they get back. At least he doesn't know how _he'll_ function. 

His apartment neighbors must be having the time of their lives right now with him not being there. Hopefully the previous roach infestation won't come back into play, because rent is already a pain in the ass.

"Get in the car, stupidass!" Deidara shouts, reaching over Itachi from the backseat to honk the horn. 

Hidan puts up a finger, signaling one more minute. He goes back into the cabin to check for anything they could've potentially left behind. He does a once over with their quick cleaning job as well. He's an asshole, but Itachi refused to leave unless they all cleaned up the slightest bit to make it easier on the staff.

He runs outside, sliding into the backseat with Deidara.

"Okay, now I feel bad, hm. My man, you're sure you want to be up there alone?"

"My man, what a romantic name," Hidan teases, "seriously though, I don't wanna leave you like that, babe."

"I'll be okay, you know I don't talk much when I'm driving anyways." Itachi sends them a smile, and Hidan pretends as if he just got shot.

Deidara laughs but agrees. He rests all of his weight on Hidan.

"I'm still tired, let me sleep just a little bit, yeah?"

"Oh no no _no_ , my leg is gonna get so fuckin' numb."

"Please, pretty please?"

"I'm not easy to sway, sweetheart."

"I'll give you a blowjob."

Hidan pretends to mull it over. "Let me get you a blanket."

Deidara celebrates his victory while Hidan reaches into a backpack on the floor of the car. He pulls out a small throw blanket and chucks it towards Deidara's face. Deidara catches it with one hand, unfolding it and spreading it out. He wraps it around himself, waiting for Hidan to sit back down and put on his seatbelt. Right as he clicks it in, Deidara's head is in his lap, body curled up tightly.

"Let's hope we don't crash," Hidan mutters, his hand tangling itself in Deidara's soft hair. There's no ponytail, and Deidara's hair flows freely all over Hidan's lap and over the side of the seat.

Hidan drags his fingers, slowly, through Deidara's hair. Deidara only hums, eyes closed. He manages to fall asleep minutes later, one hand on Hidan's thigh.

Hidan looks up and puts his head on the headrest. He adjusts it, and prepares to take a nap alongside Deidara. Itachi takes in a small breath, and Hidan opens his eyes.

"What are you going to do when we get back? I barely know anything about your job."

"Ah, the bakery let me have two weeks of vacation, so I don't hafta go back right away."

Itachi takes a right turn, and Deidara slides to the side. Hidan holds onto his arm. "That's good, at least it'll give you some time to rest."

"Yeah, but I think I'll screw around half the time."

Itachi nods. Hidan continues, closing his eyes again, but fully listening.

"What about you, librarian? Gonna go back to work right when we get back?"

Itachi sighs. "Unfortunately, I think I have to. The staff are still short on people willing to help out, so I need to be there for them right when we get back."

"Very nice of you, babe. I'll visit the library whenever I can, and I'll drag Princess with me."

"I'd like that." Itachi's eyes are shining, still trying to process that _this_ is his new life. 

He knows that Hidan will keep to his word, embarrassing him as much as he can when he comes to visit. When he brings Deidara along, he can picture the two of them arguing over a book, swatting at each other until they start laughing. He goes to say something else, but looks in his rearview mirror to see Hidan with his mouth open, knocked out cold.

-

They all agree that stopping might not be the best idea. While it would be nice to be able to see a few more things, they have to get back home before their vacation time runs out. Hidan may have a few days he can spare, but Itachi still has to go back the day after they get home. Deidara has to catch up on all of his shop orders. He's been away too long, and he decided to leave his shop open while on the trip.

One look at his orders list had him spiraling into stress.

To make matters worse, they have to start thinking about school again. Thankfully for them, they all have their apartments. They don't have to apply for student housing. It's registration that poses a problem. 

Deidara wakes up as they're passing a rest stop. He checks the time and counts the hours Itachi has been driving. 

Four.

"Let's stop for a sec, yeah. We can switch out."

"Okay."

He pulls into the next rest stop that appears, stretching his back out when he parks the car. A few bones pop when he rolls his neck from side to side. He goes through a process. Knuckles, wrists, twist for his back, tailbone, and ankles.

Deidara watches in horror as crack after crack sounds whenever Itachi moves his body.

"We need to get you a professional chiropractor, hn. That's not sounding too good."

Itachi shrugs, unfazed. "Feels fine to me."

"You're inhuman. I think I'd cry if my tailbone ever popped."

"It doesn't feel like anything. If anything, it kinda feels nice. You should try it out sometime." Deidara can't make out if Itachi is trying to be serious or not. He only nods and rolls his own neck, two pops on the right side and only one on the left.

Deidara gets out to go to the bathroom. Itachi climbs into the spot Deidara had just been in, laying his head down on Hidan's lap. Hidan, going from a sudden loss of contact to having it back, stirs. 

When he opens his eyes and sees black hair, neatly tied up in a loose ponytail as always, he grins. His hand moves over to Itachi's head, stroking his hair as he had done with Deidara. He rubs at Itachi's scalp, smoothing little circles into it with the tips of his fingers.

Itachi lets himself melt into it, enjoy it. 

A distant yell snaps them both into alert. Deidara comes barreling towards the car, waving his arms around and twisting his wrist. 

Itachi jumps into action, slotting in the car key, turning it on while he attempts to open the drivers door.

Deidara dives in, going from park to reverse. He tries his best not to floor it, but manages to have a few heads turn towards him from the squeaking of the tires.

"The fuck is goin' on, Princess?"

"Dude in the bathroom tried making fun of me for having long hair and I told him to say it to my face but he swung first! I didn't wanna fight, I swear! It was in self defense, hm!"

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Itachi asks, buckling up his seatbelt.

"Of course not! He just has a broken nose!"

"That is so fuckin' hot, I think I have a boner." Hidan groans.

"That's great, hun, but you need to tell me if you see a grey mini van with an angry looking man driving behind us!"

"You mean the angry looking dude in the lane over that's almost caught up to our car completely?"

Deidara swears, increasing his speed. He doesn't want to get pulled over for speeding, but he needs to get away as fast as possible. The mini van doesn't show signs of letting up, managing to get right next to them. The man rolls down his window, but Deidara shows no signs of rolling down his own.

Deidara knows the man will keep following him if he keeps going down the road, so he takes the first turn he can find. 

Just as they think they're out of the man's premise, he pulls up to them at a red light, still in the next lane. Still with a bloody nose. 

"Wow, babe, for someone so scrawny you did a number on his nose."

"I'm _lean_ not scrawny, you piece of shit."

"Whatever you say, dei."

"Guys, he's yelling." Itachi makes direct eye contact with the man. He tries holding it, to look intimidating, but Itachi returns it with just as much ferocity. 

He's too focused on Itachi's stare to notice that the light is green. Deidara speeds away, the man's expression switching from shock to anger. Itachi still, despite moving forward, doesn't break eye contact. 

Although a simple gaze, the man seems to have been scared enough to stop chasing after them, slowing down significantly in the lane over while Deidara tries finding a route back onto the freeway.

The car is thick with the adrenaline of being chased. Hidan grabs onto Itachi's shoulder as Deidara rolls down the ramp to the freeway. The mini van is following behind them, cautiously leaving a huge gap between them.

"All you had'ta do was look at him, 'tachi! That was so cool, it's like you have magic eyes!"

"I think he just has a scary stare, dumbass."

"I dunno man, I feel like he was mentally torturing him or somethin'."

Deidara and Itachi laugh as Hidan goes into a full explanation of his theories on humans who have special abilities. Through all the talking, they get through another six hours of driving, stopping for a bathroom break or food.

It's Hidan's turn to drive, screaming out his personalized playlist while Deidara gags in the background. He tells Hidan to change it, but Hidan pretends that the music is too loud for him to hear. He forces out the lyrics, though embarrassingly he can admit the number of voice cracks was higher than he expected.

-

It's sixteen hours in, and Hidan is getting restless.

He had just switched out with Itachi during their stop at the gas station. Deidara had, again, splurged on as many snacks as possible. Hidan had eaten at first to prevent complete boredom. But now, stomach full, he doesn't know what to do with himself. He could get Deidara to watch a movie with him, or he could scroll around on his phone.

It's too _boring_ though.

An idea crosses his mind.

"Hey, Princess?"

"Yeah, hn? Need something?"

"Actually, I need you to cash in on a little deal we made earlier."

"You really want to do this _now_? What happens when this is the one time some freak accident happens?"

"You didn't have a problem sleeping on my lap earlier, won't it be better if you're fully conscious?"

Deidara stares at him, wide eyed. He unbuckles his seatbelt and lays himself stomach down, sliding towards Hidan so that his arms can rest on Hidan's thighs. Itachi's eyebrows quirks up.

"What are you doing?" Itachi asks, peeking every few seconds. Everything is dimly lit, the only main source of light coming from the street lamps they're passing. 

"Tell him what you're gonna do, dei."

Deidara buries his face in Hidan's thigh. "I'm..."

"Your?" Hidan teases further. Deidara is propped up on his elbows, looking up at him with a weary expression. He grabs Deidara's chin and tilts it up. Deidara's eyes flutter closed.

He snaps them back open, fire in his eyes.

There's _no_ way he'll let Hidan have that control over him right now. He's going to bring Hidan to his knees, though that would be hard in a car. He smirks up at Hidan and starts to unzip his jeans.

"I'm gonna suck Hidan off, hm. You want to go next?"

Itachi grips the steering wheel, scratching his thumb nails on it. He can hear Hidan's pants being shrugged off, and a small groan. He didn't think Deidara would actually go through with doing something in the car, knowing full Hidan would've already planned everything out. 

Deidara palms Hidan through his boxers. Hidan's hand naturally finds itself in Deidara's hair. He pets it while Deidara slowly pulls off his boxers. The contact with the air makes Hidan shift slightly, but the feeling of Deidara's hand makes him hiss. He's had his eyes closed the whole time, so when he looks down to see Deidara looking right back up at him, Hidan's cock in his hand, he swears.

" _Shit_ , keep going Princess."

Itachi still tries to keep his composure despite hearing all the noises from the backseat. He can't see anything clearly, and he wishes that he could, but is also grateful. He knows the car would be flipped over if he were able to see. If he gets pulled over, he won't know how to explain that his boyfriends fucking in the backseat compelled him to break a few laws.

Hidan doesn't try to hide his sounds, moaning loudly at the first contact of Deidara's hot mouth on the tip of his cock. Deidara goes excruciatingly slow, opting to slowly go down. Hidan wants to grab Deidara's head, push him down as far as he can go, but he's also curious to see what Deidara has planned.

The teasing goes on for what Hidan claims as an eternity. But finally, _finally_ , Deidara licks a stripe up the side before taking Hidan in as comfortably as he can. Hidan's thighs shake, hips rising slightly. Deidara's hands rest themselves on Hidan's thighs, pushing them back down harshly. Hidan bites down on his tongue as Deidara continues to bob his head up and down. Itachi looks through the rear view mirror the same time Hidan looks up. They lock eyes, Itachi's dark and wanting.

Hidan almost comes just from the intensity of having Itachi's eyes burn into his.

"Deidara," Itachi says sternly, "come here."

Deidara takes his mouth off Hidan's cock, patting his thigh in a silent apology. Hidan pants while Deidara tries to get himself in between the two front seats. With the car moving, he struggles.

Once his head is right next to Itachi's, Itachi whispers something to him. Hidan leans in to figure out what they're saying, but Deidara is already turning back towards him, getting back into position. He settles down again and wastes no time picking up from where he left off.

Hidan cries out from the sudden strong sensation.

"Damn, not holding back, huh pretty boy." Deidara stops again.

"Too much for you? I _can_ go slower."

"No! No, I wasn't complain' I swear. Don't stop."

Deidara snickers, but complies. He takes whatever he can't in his mouth, in his hand. He twists it while pulling his head back a little, swirling his tongue. 

Hidan let's Deidara take care of him. He tries to get comfy in his seat, but realizes that Deidara is still holding his hips down. One hand stretched across to grip Hidan's thigh, and the other thigh having a forearm leaning on it. 

"Bet you wish 'tachi were back here to watch you, don't you babe?" 

Deidara breathes out hard through his nose.

"Hidan," Itachi says in warning, "don't say that. I'll actually pull over."

Hidan grins. For a third time, Deidara pauses. Hidan looks down to reprimand him. Deidara takes both arms off of Hidan's thighs, coming up to grip the sides of Hidan's face. He kisses him hard, tongue sliding in. Hidan bites on Deidara's lower lip. Deidara moans, high and pretty. 

"Please, _please_ can you fuck me?"

 _That_ takes Hidan by surprise.

"In the car, babe?"

"Please, damn it." There's desperation in Deidara's voice, and Hidan wants nothing more than to make him feel good.

"Uh, 'tachi-"

"Yeah, I know."

While Itachi finds an exit to get off the freeway, Hidan lets Deidara climb onto his lap. Deidara hovers over him, eyes glinting whenever the light catches on them. Hidan thinks he's so beautiful, so unreal. He swipes a thumb over Deidara's cheek.

They could get caught. It's a high possibility. Someone could pull them over right now and take one look into the back seat. There's also the chance that someone could come barreling in, crashing into them. Hidan doesn't have his seatbelt on, and the only thing keeping Deidara from swaying all that much is Hidan. It's a recipe for disaster, and Hidan thinks both his boyfriends are getting off on it just as much as he is.

Itachi finally finds what he's looking for, checking the map for their location. They've barely made it into Nevada. While it's straining to not stop at a hotel, their system of sleeping in the car and driving seems to be working fine. And while he wants to get home as soon as possible for work, he has more pressing matters. 

It's a shady strip mall parking lot that Itachi deems good enough. He tries finding somewhat of a corner or alleyway. When he does find it, he shuts off the car, clambering into the backseat. He can't rush himself; he has to stay calm.

Until he sees the mess Hidan has turned Deidara into. 

Deidara has his head buried in Hidan's shoulder, lube already open.

"Can you take three, babe?" 

"Mhm." Is all Deidara manages to get out as Hidan inserts a third finger. He curls them upwards, trying to catch on that _spot_. Deidara jerks, hips jutting forwards.

Itachi turns Deidara's face to his own, kissing his nose. Deidara laughs, cut short by a groan. Itachi looks at Hidan, kissing his forehead. 

No more time can be wasted. Itachi sits down next to Hidan, ready to watch the show when Hidan shoves Deidara over onto Itachi's lap. Deidara grins down at him, placing his hands on Itachi's shoulders. He wastes no time in unzipping Itachi's pants, getting everything ready before sinking down slowly. Itachi pants, clearly not expecting everything to go so fast, though Deidara's current pace is making him impatient.

Deidara takes his time, moving his hips in little circles when he bottoms out. He sighs, happy and content. Itachi's left hand grips at Deidara's thigh, head swimming. The first lift of Deidara's hips has his mouth parting. Hidan watches the show, dark eyes scanning through every move. He hums at Deidara's whine when he drops back down. Itachi, ready to get going, pushes his hips up to meet Deidara. 

Deidara gasps, fingers tightening around his shoulders. Itachi takes control, setting a pace that's not too rough but not too slow. Deidara is happy to match it. He leans down to lick at Itachi's neck. 

It continues like that before Deidara just decides to take what Itachi will give him, lifting his hips up a fraction. Itachi starts going faster, without any concern or regard for the noises. The car is shaking from the force, and Deidara's arms wrap around Itachi's neck, smushing his face into Deidara's chest. He knows Deidara is close when he hugs so tight it starts to hurt. He can't breath, but can't find it in him to care with how pretty Deidara is, compliant. He chuckles lightly.

"Can't breathe, love." Deidara releases him instantly, muttering apologies in between whimpers and moans. Itachi soothes him, deciding to give Deidara what he needs as a reward for being so good to him. He reaches a hand between them to wrap around Deidara's cock, thumbing the tip. It's all Deidara needs to have him _gone_.

"Shit, shit, 'tachi, like that, please-"

Itachi groans at the feeling of Deidara tightening around him. He takes one look at Deidara's flushed face, looking over to Hidan to see him looking back with so much desire in his eyes. He spills into the condom with a long moan. 

Deidara climbs off of Itachi and back onto Hidan's lap. Hidan watches with lidded eyes as Deidara quickly rolls a condom on Hidan, sinking down again. Hidan is overwhelmed instantly, thinking that Deidara would be done. Deidara lifts his hips up and slams them down, pace brutal and sloppy. Hidan let's Deidara do all the work, happy with sitting back.

"Think you can do another one, babe?"

"I don't- I don't know."

He knows he can. It doesn't take Hidan long to come, fingers clumsily stroking Deidara. Deidara opens his mouth in a silent scream, not used to the overstimulation. Itachi whispers in his ear, egging him on.

"Come on, love, come for us." Deidara squeezes his eyes shut, second orgasm making him shake. Hidan presses kisses onto his hand.

Deidara collapses, going limp. He can't move, even when Hidan pokes at him.

"Please tell me we have wipes. Don't know how the fuck we'll clean up anything otherwise."

Itachi twists to find the bag of face washes and makeup. He get's tissues and a cloth, opening the car door to pour a water bottle onto it. He cleans up Deidara and Hidan as much as he can, forcing them into the front seats after they get their clothes back on. After he cleans himself up, he tries finding any spots on the car seats that need cleaning.

"I'm most coherent, so I'm driving," Hidan says. 

"No complaints," Itachi replies, handing Deidara a pillow. He stretches himself out on the backseat, getting his own pillow and blanket. He asks Hidan to crack the windows down so the car can get some air. Deidara is surprisingly snoring, the tiny noises making Hidan snicker. Itachi takes a few pictures, falling asleep just as easily when his head hits the pillow.

-

Hidan doesn't put any music on, content with listening to the sounds of the road. He's tired, eyes a bit hazy, but he's able to drive for another four hours. He doesn't think of anything in that time, drowning in the task of staying awake and in one lane. Thinking about it now, it wasn't the best idea to fuck in the car, but Hidan doesn't regret his choice. 

Deidara stirs and wakes up for a second to adjust. 

"Hey, thank you, by the way, for doing that. You didn't have to."

"You think I _didn't_ want to have car sex? Laughable, yeah."

"Way to ruin the moment, damn."

"I wasn't kidding though, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't want it. Thank _you_ two." Deidara leans, still groggy from sleep, and kisses the corner of Hidan's mouth. He goes back to bed shortly after.

"'Top' my ass," Hidan grumbles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is all just 70% porn i apologize. sorry for the late update life got in the way again and i needed to get a handle on myself. if this has spelling errors or in general sounds like hot garbage, it's 4 am and i'm so out of it, but i wanted to write at least something :)
> 
> hope everyone is doing good!!


	11. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Almost reaching their destination, the boys reminisce. 
> 
> Time spent back home in the city.

"Alright, I'm energized and ready to go, yeah! I haven't slept that well in so long!" Deidara chirps, cheery to get back on the road after their small napping session. They're more than half way, but with all the energy he has, he's sure he can go the whole distance if he wanted to.

"Wow, good for you, babe," Hidan groans, tired from his driving shift. Itachi sits up slowly, blinking around the light that's starting to stream through the buildings and trees.

"You're awfully happy," Itachi comments. Deidara smiles at him.

"'Cause he got fucked out last night," Hidan yawns, hissing when Deidara lands a hit to his side.

Itachi offers the backseat to Hidan so that he can finally get some sleep. There's no protest when Hidan takes up the same position Itachi had been in, cuddling up to the pillow and tucking himself in the blanket. Itachi and Deidara share a small kiss. Deidara smiles shyly at him, and takes Itachi's hand while backing out of the gas station.

Hidan only gets up once to smack a kiss somewhere onto Itachi and Deidara's faces. 

"How much longer do we have to go?" Hidan asks, settling back down.

"I think around another sixteen hours," Deidara replies softly.

Hidan stretches his arms, visibly distressed. The straight shot back home is harder when he thinks of his own warm bed at home. A bed that he might have to sleep in alone when everyone goes back to their own apartments. 

"Don't worry, we'll be home soon," Itachi adds, pulling out his phone.

Deidara cruises through the freeway while Itachi and Hidan get more sleep. Itachi knows that the rest is good, but not being able to properly stretch out on a bed can take the energy out of someone. They're sleeping strictly for driving. Itachi wants nothing more than to curl up alongside Deidara and Hidan in his own king sized bed back in his apartment.

While they've only started their relationship, he can see them moving in with each other quickly. Before they all got busy with jobs and end of year exams, they were always hanging out at one of the three apartment's _daily_. Deidara's apartment was a fan favorite due to the little decorations he had put up. There were contrasting colors everywhere, but it all blended together, and _worked_ together.

Itachi hadn't had time to properly decorate his apartment. It seemed impersonal, the modern designs of the kitchen and flooring. Now, he can add in little trinkets and pictures.

-

"You think I'll ever get to see Kakuzu in person?" Hidan hadn't been able to nap for more than two hours. Deidara, still at the wheel, snorts at him.

"In your dreams, he's such a private person, let alone a celebrity. Unless you're going to one of his premiers, that is, hn."

"I'm gonna save enough money to take us there. When he comes out with a new movie, we'll be there. I'm _not_ dying without seein' how sexy he is in person."

"Sounds to me like you have an obsession," Itachi adds.

"Are you telling me you want to die without seeing Kisame in the flesh?"

There's silence. Itachi sighs, defeated. He agrees, and asks Hidan to add it to their bucket list of things to do.

"Speaking of the bucket list, didn't we keep mementos of the things we did back in high school? Like pictures?" Deidara questions.

Hidan starts flipping through the book, catching sight of the awful drawings etched into every corner of every page. He stops and sees that one of their items on the list has a picture attached below it. The glue was smeared, so the picture is slightly lopsided, but he can see it clearly. They're all crouched down together, makeup and costumes fully done. He reads the bulletpoint and sees that it was their senior play.

They had done a crossover between _The Wizard of Oz_ and _Alice in Wonderland_. The combination had been _Dorothy in Wonderland_ , which Hidan right off the bat thought was stupid. But he had agreed after they put it down in the checklist, with maximum complaints. He was given the role of the Mad Hatter, fitting to his personality. Itachi had gotten the role of the Cheshire Cat, one that came as a shock to many. Only few people had talked to Itachi before senior year. They were either too intimated by him, or they had their own circle of friends.

Plus, Itachi was always quiet and calm. So when the school heard he and his two best friends would be participating in the school play, many flocked to come see it opening night. There had been so much conversation, and Itachi had gotten much more popular after his role was revealed. Though only a high school play, Itachi had played the Cheshire Cat with a strange seduction. He was asked to prom multiple times after that.

Deidara, always a social butterfly demanding of attention and approval, got casted as the Queen, or King, of Hearts. He fit the role in no time at all, memorizing his lines and stage blocking in only two rehearsals. Itachi and Hidan were always impressed to see him walk on the stage like he owned it. Which he did.

"I'm never going to live that play down," Itachi groans.

"Was it the ears?" Hidan teases. "It was fuckin' hot."

"I tried so _hard_ to be cool, and that'll haunt me forever." Itachi waves his hands in the air, like the start of a Renaissance play. 

"No, it was cute, hn! I think I took my costume with me to college."

They chat about some of their fondest high school memories, embarrassing each other with secrets that they kept from each other. Hidan admits that the anonymous Valentine's cards he would send to them were most definitely him, he just had someone else write the message for him in fancy lettering. Deidara and Itachi had gotten a Valentine every single year.

Deidara admits that the reason he had to go to the bathroom during their senior homecoming dance was because he needed to take a breather after he saw Itachi properly party for the first time. In addition, Hidan unbuttoning his shirt and loosening his tie didn't help Deidara's battle with insanity. He stayed in the bathroom for thirty minutes before Itachi came in and gently asked him if he was doing okay. Deidara had to lie and say he believed his drink was spiked. 

Even Itachi had secrets of his own. He tells Hidan that every single time they would go to a party, he silently prayed that Hidan wore his special shirt. It was a plain black silk shirt, but Hidan would refuse to button it over halfway. It always cut into a V-neck that would slowly become more and more unbuttoned as the night went on. When the three of them would walk home, Hidan's shirt would be completely open for everyone's viewing pleasure.

The stories fill up hours of their time. When Itachi gets behind the wheel, Deidara and Hidan drool over pictures of Itachi that they had taken on their phones. Hidan is presently surprised to know that his whole camera roll from around the time of high school consisted of the three of them absolutely _killing_ it. Hidan's hair was always slicked back, attitude cocky. He misses that part of himself, even the tiniest bit. Maybe he can gain a fraction of it back.

"I know we said no more stops, but I'm really hungry for some real food, yeah. I want _tonkatsu_." Deidara looks at them, pleading, obvious puppy eyes shining through.

"Keep holdin' that face and it's gonna stick like that forever, babe," Hidan cackles.

Deidara unbuckles his seatbelt and lunges up at Hidan.

"I'm going to throttle you. I've been too soft lately, and I think that your daily strangling session is in order."

"Oh no, he's hangry!" Hidan shouts, laughing harder. He switches his tone slightly to match a taunt, his eyes lidded and playful. " _Please_ , by all means, choke me."

Deidara grabs his ear instead, switching up his plan right when the words left Hidan's mouth. He pulls up, and Hidan yelps.

"Right when I thought you two were at peace," Itachi mumbles, "Hidan, Deidara, we can get food, I'm hungry too."

After hearing their full names being called, Deidara immediately let's go of Hidan's ear and leans back to buckle up. There's a smile on his face, no doubt from the confirmation of a meal. Hidan rubs his ear dramatically, mustering up a small apology to Deidara for pushing him, per Itachi's request. Deidara responds back with his own apology. They both start giggling after.

-

"Alright, how about now!" Deidara screams, arms out the window. 

"One more fuckin' hour!" Hidan screeches right back.

Properly exhausted, their last energy reserves check in. Itachi yells out, still perfectly, his rendition of _Bohemian Rhapsody_. Deidara and Hidan take up backing vocals while Itachi puts on a show. Hidan finally starts recognizing the area around him. They live in the city of San Francisco, beautiful and always loud.

"I've missed the city!" Itachi joins in on their celebrating, excited to be back home, or more importantly, excited to finally be able to take a shower and lay down.

Hidan starts headbanging, fatigue catching up to him. If he stops moving for one second, he'll be knocked out cold. Deidara has the same plan in mind, gripping the back of Hidan's seat and thrashing his hair everywhere. Hidan only has to make it a little bit longer, and then he'll kick the steering wheel.

In the last ten minutes of their drive, Hidan asks Itachi to turn of the GPS. They know where they are, and a sinking feeling hits him. He was so excited about finally getting to unwind that he didn't think about anything else.

"Am I- do you guys want to go to your own apartments?" His words dwindle down as he says the sentence.

He looks over to see Itachi- with soft eyes, looking straight at him.

"You really are stupid," Itachi says. "We're staying together." 

Hidan sighs, relieved. Though he was expecting that response, there was a little voice in the back of his mind that convinced him they were fed up with him. He quickly pushed that thought away, grinning.

"Who's apartment has the comfiest bed?"

"Mine, hn."

"Dei's." There's no hesitation in either Deidara or Itachi's voices. Hidan takes a right turn, on route towards Deidara's apartment complex.

"It's messy since I couldn't clean my work space and I was rushing, so be warned." Hidan and Itachi shake it off, too tired to care; not like they would in the first place.

They park, not bothering to take out their suitcases. They only take the small bags, dragging themselves into the elevator. Deidara sluggishly inserts his key into the door, unlocking it and ushering them inside. Itachi stretches, wincing when Deidara turns on the lights.

"You can just use my clothes, yeah? Go ahead and take a shower while I clean up. Remember how small it is though, so be careful if you wanna take a shower together." Hidan and Itachi are already stripping off their clothes, moving towards the direction of the bathroom. 

"Wait, you aren't comin' with us?" Hidan asks, pausing as he's taking off his pants. Itachi frowns.

"I'll just take one after! I have to make sure the bed is cleared off and comfy enough. I'll set up a lot of blankets, hn." He smiles at them tenderly. There are a few strings of further protest, but he's able to convince them to hurry up and get washed off.

Deidara strolls into his room, switching the light on. He's met with piles of unorganized shop papers and mailing addresses. Most of them are on the floor, so he quickly moves those to the side. He sets his eyes on his actual bed next. There are several beauty products thrown around from his rush in packing. He organizes them and sets the lotion on his desk, heading towards the bathroom to drop off the shampoo.

Hidan and Itachi are laughing, trying their hardest to maneuver by each other in the shower without slipping and cracking their heads open. Deidara gently taps on the glass of the walk in shower, smirking at them. He only opens it slightly to slip the shampoo in. Itachi grabs it with wet hands, thanking him. Deidara tells them to avoid hitting their heads on anything, opening the door a little wider to reach his arm through and smack Hidan's ass.

Deidara scurries out of the room to get new sheets. Thankfully, he washed some a few days before they left for the trip. He strips the bed first, placing his stuffed animals to the side. The comforter was recently washed as well, so there's no point in trying to replace it. He has trouble getting the sheets on all four corners of the bed, but once he does, he admires his handy work. He lays on his fluffy comforter, fluffing up the pillows to give it an extra cozy look. 

Just as he turns to head into the living room, Itachi and Hidan come in, towels hanging low on their hips. Deidara gives them a once over before heading towards his dresser. They both keep spare underwear at each others' apartments, just incase they stay longer than expected. He tosses it towards them.

"Do you guys even want clothes? We can sleep like this."

"Exactly what I was thinkin', babe."

"Fine by me."

"Alright! It's all set up if you guys wanna lay down! I'll be right back, hm."

Deidara takes a quick shower, too tired to do his usual routine. He only has the energy to blow dry his hair. He walks back into his bedroom to find them laying down, arms wrapped around each other. Hidan's head is buried in Itachi's chest. Deidara's heart soars, happily grabbing the blanket from the corner of the bed. He goes to turn off the light, and turns on a lava lamp that can change colors. He sets it to blue, a soft haze traveling throughout the room. 

They both open their arms in invitation, making room for Deidara right in the middle. He spreads out the blanket and climbs on top of them, collapsing with his legs stretched out. 

"Good night," Deidara whispers. 

"Night," Hidan yawns.

Itachi doesn't say anything, only shifting to give them both a gentle kiss.

-

The alarm rings at seven, jolting Itachi awake. While he didn't get many hours of sleep, it was the best he's ever had. He untangles himself from Deidara and Hidan to get ready. He brushes out his hair, tying it up into a low bun. After that, he washes his face and brushes his teeth, slapping himself on the cheek twice to get himself to fully wake up. 

He opens Deidara's dresser and picks out an outfit, reminding himself to text Deidara an apology for stealing his clothes. He really doesn't want to open his suitcase and go diving for a pair of pants. 

The library is a short walk from Deidara's apartment, it being so close to campus. He plucks the spare key from Deidara's desk, glancing one more time at his boyfriends.

"Leavin' already?" Hidan murmurs, half asleep.

"Yeah, but I'll be back later today. I'll text you guys, don't worry. Go back to bed, okay?"

"Have a good day, 'tachi."

Itachi chuckles while he walks through the door. He knows Hidan is already sleeping again.

_

Deidara rubs his eyes, the sun shining through his windows. He forgot to close the blinds. Hidan is tucked into his shoulder, arm wrapped tightly around his waist. He places a hand on Hidan's head, patting it. He tries to untangle himself as slowly as he can, but Hidan's arm grips him as hard as it can.

"Hey," he whispers, "I have to start on orders." Deidara shakes Hidan enough to have him loosen his grip.

"'M gonna be all alone," Hidan drawls, trying to reclaim his hold.

"I'll be over at the desk, stupid. You can go back to sleep, I'll be quiet, hn."

Hidan buries his head in Deidara's neck, heaving. It's enough of a confirmation for Deidara to slide Hidan's arm off, scooting to the edge of the bed. 

"Play some music? Think I need'ta wake up."

Deidara hums, padding over to his desk chair and sitting. He tries to boot up his computer, worrying that it might take a while since it's been shut off for so long. It manages to start up without any delays. His tabs are all still open from the last time he was working. He puts on soft jazz, playing it loud enough for Hidan to hear. He starts on work right away, organizing orders that need to be packed first based on item size. 

Hidan tries his best to wake up, but fails. Deidara doesn't mind, though, swiftly signing business cards and setting up a packing station. 

-

"Now that the trip is over, whatcha wanna do?"

"We have to focus on work and school again, yeah."

"So," Hidan pauses, "no more trips for a while."

"Exactly," Deidara explains, "we saved up a lot of money for that trip, and now we have to earn it back to save for another one."

Hidan's head lifts up at the prospect of another trip. While sleeping in a nice bed and being home were two things that Hidan appreciated _very_ much, the feeling of traveling without a destination can't be matched. He dreads having to go back to school again, though he wants to make Itachi and Deidara proud, so he'll do his best. The bakery isn't so bad, but his boss makes him work too much overtime.

"Plus, even though our exploration of traveling is over, doesn't mean we can't still explore new things." Deidara states, handing a package to Hidan.

"Huh?"

"We have a growing relationship. It's going to be a trip in itself navigating with three people. I think it'll be fun, hm!"

Hidan seals the package, slapping on the address sticker. He nods at Deidara, thinking about his words. They lull into a comfortable silence; Deidara passing the packages for Hidan to close and mark. Itachi is supposed to come back around three. It's two fifty now.

There's a knock on the bedroom door while Hidan sets the last order down. Itachi strolls in, bag in hand, Deidara's [outfit](https://pm1.narvii.com/7570/710ecbcbe8d8ee7c0a624a213e1c17fc5b7ad2bdr1-640-640v2_uhq.jpg) on. Hidan and Deidara stare as Itachi beams at them. His waist is defined by the belt around his hips, and the sweater along with his hair up in a bun make the other two go feral. They're on him while he tries setting down his bag, tugging him into a hug.

"Lookin' good today, babe," Hidan praises.

"Please, _please_ take every single article of my clothing," Deidara begs, tugging at Itachi's sleeve.

Itachi chuckles, holding them both close. 

"I heard part of what you said. We're going to do focus on school and work, but we're also going to work as a team to let this relationship grow. We have so much to explore, and I'm glad I have you two to do it with."

"Sentimental, and kinda, no, _really_ fuckin' cheesy, but I like it." Hidan grins.

Itachi pulls out a new journal, explaining his plan to them. Though their original plan consisted of pasting every photo from their trip into their high school journal, Itachi thought it would be better to make a new journal, for a new part of their lives. They dig up every polaroid that they took, working on putting them inside the new journal together. They add captions, descriptions, and doodles, filling up pages with memories. There are markers and colored pencils littering the floor.

The first page is titled _Summer_.

The journal is nowhere near done, barely filled at all. Itachi flips to a new page, grabbing a marker and writing a word on it. Deidara adds on little stickers while Hidan draws on the empty spaces.

"Perfect," Deidara breathes.

"Better than the shit I used to do in elementary."

"I think the glitter adds a nice touch."

Written in bold red-orange letters is the word _Fall_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW WOW WOW elections are finally over!! this week has been absolutely ROUGH for a lot of people, so i hope everyone is doing great now! here you go, whatever this is :D
> 
> please stay safe!! <33


	12. Seasons of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's autumn season, and the leaves are starting to change colors. Routines go back into place, and the trio find a part of themselves missing. After fall comes winter. Another vacation is set up, but this one might be harder on the stress levels.

_Fall_

Hidan falls off his bed, the impact startling him enough to wake him. He lays on the floor, giving up on getting up. His blanket is still wrapped around him at an awkward angle, but Hidan finds it comfortable. He reaches up to his nightstand, slapping the top of it to find his phone. Once he does, he finally sits up.

" _Shit_ , man-"

He cuts himself off, stumbling as he gets up. He woke up thirty minutes before he was supposed to, and while he could go back to bed, he knows his body won't let him. Instead, he makes a trip to his kitchen, texting while he opens up a cupboard.

**To: icky stinky boyfriends**

**5:36 AM**

**Me: mornin fuckers**

While he waits for any reply, he makes himself toast. His toaster has it's on and off days, so when it works, it boosts his energy. The toast comes out golden brown, his phone buzzing as he adds butter to it.

**From: icky stinky boyfriends**

**5:42 AM**

**golden boy: up so early?**

**Me: fell off the bed :/**

**golden boy: oh your poor, poor abused brain. it can't take much more of this, i'm afraid.**

**Me: shut the fuck up?? i'm literally genius level**

**golden boy: sure, i'll agree to make you feel better. dei isn't gonna be up for a while, and i'm gonna head out, so have a good day :)**

**Me: it's cute when u use faces :D have good day mwah**

Hidan locks his phone and goes through his routine. He throws on clothes he can find in his dresser and he's out the door. The walk to the bakery isn't too far, but the chilly morning air makes him shiver slightly. It's still dark, and while San Francisco doesn't experience the full four seasons, he's still excited to see if he can find an area where the trees change color. 

He stops in front of the petite building, unlocking it from the front. Now, it's just daily tasks. Make sure everything is cleaned and sanitized. Get the machines prepped, and start heating up and filling the displays. The bakery doesn't open till seven, so he has plenty of time to double check everything. He stocks up the display cases with the best pastries he can find, waiting for his coworkers to file in. 

Fuu taps him on the shoulder as he's finishing up mopping the floor.

"Welcome back! Hope you had a good vacation! You can take a break and I can finish up prep!" 

"Thanks," Hidan replies, still not used to such enthusiasm so early in the morning.

Fuu only recently got hired, but already has everything down. She's still a young kid, and Hidan tries his best to accommodate for her bright attitude even if he's pissed off about something. 

While Hidan takes his small break, he checks his phone. It's almost seven, so Deidara should be waking up soon. 

His break is short lived when he sees that it's time to open. Fuu is in the back starting to bake, so Hidan takes initiative to turn on the open sign. Several people already flood in, some regulars, and some new faces. Hidan prepares their drinks absent mindedly. He's done it enough times that he doesn't have to think so hard when he's making a cup of coffee. 

-

Itachi places another book back from the cart, looking at the cover to see if it's anything interesting. He usually puts away student textbooks, but he was handed a cart of books that people had checked out for fun. He goes through some titles he's seen before, cliché romance novels or the occasional _Harry Potter_ book.

It's almost noon.

He gets lost in his simple task, mind drifting off into simple questions. Dinner plans, rent expenses, upcoming events. His phone buzzes in his pocket, arm stretched out halfway to set a book back on it's shelf. 

He can see that Deidara is calling him. When he answers the phone, he can tell immediately that Deidara is outside.

" _When's your lunchbreak, hn?"_

Itachi glances at the wall clock.

"In twenty minutes, why?" 

" _I'll be there in ten._ " Deidara hangs up, and Itachi smiles. 

He spends those grueling ten minutes finishing up placing the books back. He's able to clear the cart when he hears Deidara's voice behind him. 

"You're so fucking cute as a librarian!" Deidara rushes over to hug Itachi. Itachi happily squeezes Deidara's waist, inhaling whatever scent Deidara decided to put on. It smells like caramel and a hint of apples.

"Now, let's surprise Hidan at the bakery, yeah?" Deidara looks at him slyly, extended his hand out for Itachi to take.

Itachi smiles, taking Deidara's hand, slotting their fingers together. They walk slow enough to admire the shops around them. Some are more in season than others, every café they pass by jam packed with students already cramming notes onto paper though the semester just started.

They stop in front of the little bakery, cutely and more modernly decorated with minimalistic pieces. It's never been Hidan's style to be so _boring_ , so Itachi and Deidara were able to get a laugh out of the plain walls and metal chairs the first time they ever visited. Hidan claims that one day he'll decorate the place so that it won't seem so business orientated all the time. He says he'll get Deidara's artistic ability and Itachi's careful assessments to help him.

When they enter, the bell rings, and they find that Fuu is at the counter ready to take their order. 

Itachi and Deidara are all too familiar with Fuu and her fun atmosphere. She's been there to console them and lift their spirts for as long as Hidan's been working at the bakery.

"Itachi! Deidara!" Fuu chirps, "Hidan's in the back right now, I'll get him for you real quick!"

Itachi only nods and smiles, leading Deidara over to the closest table.

"While we're waiting, why don't you show me some of your designs," Itachi says, poking at Deidara's bag, "I know you're making new ones, right?"

"Actually, yeah! I've been making planning to drop the idea of frogs in my shop."

Itachi stares at him, confused.

"They're just so cute, and I think I can make little designs for the clay and stickers!" Deidara starts rattling his ideas off to Itachi.

"Woah, didn't know you two were visiting," Hidan greets, pulling up a chair, "what're we talkin' about?"

Deidara retells his idea to Hidan, who jumps right into it with ideas of his own. Itachi watches them, the feeling of overwhelming happiness floating around inside his heart. He loves seeing Deidara so passionate about his art and his projects. It's different than hearing him talk in high school.

Deidara managed to make clay figures that would blow up in their junior year of high school. He had wanted to show them off at a school art gallery, claiming the explosion was the most beautiful and most _important_ part of his creation. 

But the school administration deemed it too dangerous to be on school grounds, even though Deidara had toned down the initial explosion considerably. He was suspended from school for two weeks for attempted harm on school grounds.

Itachi and Hidan took him to a field that night, letting him fire off all the explosions he wanted to. Deidara was dejected, and all together stopped making anything art related for a while, until he suddenly jumped back into it, his quality of perseverance shining through.

"Oh! Let me get you guys somethin' to eat!" Hidan rushes back into the counter and behind to the baking area, retrieving something.

When he comes back, strawberry short cake sits in front of them.

"Just gotta new batch of strawberries today!"

They eat quickly, their break time going down faster with every bite they take.

"Got any lectures today?" Hidan asks.

"One at two," Deidara groans, "you?"

"Same here. I should'a just dropped out. 'Tachi?"

"Well we're glad you didn't. And I have none today," Itachi concludes.

Hidan walks them out of the door, giving them a quick goodbye kiss and hug before they both go back to their own tasks.

Since Itachi doesn't have a class, he can work a full day at the library until around four, which is when he's free to go if he wants. Deidara has to start getting ready for his lecture, but finds time to go over his designs for his new product. Hidan is let off early, racing back to his own apartment to get ready for his lecture.

They're making it work, slowly. There will be days where they aren't able to see each other at all, swamped with work or school. They'll still call each other at every available moment, thankful for at least being able to do that. 

Hidan is positive that once they get into a normal routine, more things will start falling into place, and the aching feeling of missing them though they're so close will start to fade. He goes to his lecture, and tries is absolute best to pay attention. He can only think of the class being over so he can meet up with Deidara. 

The professor is nice enough to let them out early, students running to the doors. Hidan celebrates in his mind, thinking of a movie they can watch. Or, he and Itachi can help Deidara pack more cute orders for his shop. Either way, they can do whatever they want for however _long_ they want because it's a Friday. Two days of freedom.

-

"Put the stamp on the carboard like this," Deidara instructs. "Perfect!"

"How many times do I have to do this?" Hidan asks. It's not that it's annoying, but he wonders how Deidara handles everything while he doesn't have helping hands.

"Let me check how many orders there are." There's a pause, and a sigh. "Around seventy more."

"I'm glad you're gaining so many new orders, though," Itachi smiles, putting together a bundle of stickers.

There's a quiet playlist going on in the background, consisting of calming music and light jazz. They work like a conveyer belt. Deidara is in charge of the most important item, which would be the clay figures. Since most of them are custom made, they need to make sure they don't mess anything up, or accidently package it in a way that it'll break. Deidara's art is sturdy, but that doesn't mean a wrong bump to the box won't make it crack somehow. Especially how some of the delivery services handle the packages. 

An hour passes, and they're able to get through forty of the orders. Deidara, despite having complaints from the other two, calls it a night. He tells them to head to the living room while he cleans up. Begrudgingly, they shuffle to the living room to wait.

They hear things being moved around, and Itachi takes initiative to turn the TV on. Kisame and Kakuzu's faces appear on the screen, fighting what they assume to be as the heroes of the story. There's an explosion from off camera, and it cuts to other characters running away from something.

"God, he's so fuckin' hot." Itachi's head turns to him, face playful.

Itachi leans himself onto Hidan, laughing. When Hidan opens his mouth to ask what he's giggling at, Itachi cups his face and kisses him. 

Surprised, Hidan laughs into Itachi's mouth. There's a small sound of feet jumping off the ground, and an added weight onto the couch. Deidara rolls over in their laps, stretching himself.

-

Halloween rolls by faster than they thought. They've finally found some normalcy in their lives. Sometimes, Hidan thinks back to the fact that their road trip was over almost two months ago. He's happy, but he misses it. Not having to deal with any school, or even their jobs. They did whatever they wanted and had no consequences. Now, they need to focus on setting their lives up.

After searching through a costume store for hours, they settle on the most basic costumes. Couple costumes can be for the upcoming years. People claim they're too old to be dressing up anyway, but it's not like they're going trick or treating. Itachi settles on being a vampire, while Deidara goes for the devil approach. Hidan picks a skeleton because he wants Deidara to do the makeup designs on his face and arms.

Itachi informs them that there are a lot of children in his apartment complex. The building called him a few weeks before Halloween to tell him about the event they were setting up. Whoever agreed to participate would give out candy, decorating their doors so that the kids knew which doors to knock on. Without hesitating Itachi agreed and went to get bags of candy right after.

Hidan and Deidara were ecstatic to participate. Hidan snickered that he wanted to pull pranks, but after hearing that the parents would be coming, he refrained from setting up anything out of fear that it might get Itachi kicked out. 

Still, it was a good night. Deidara was able to get an extra pack of candy just for them to splurge on. To Deidara's horror, Hidan threw all of the Snickers bars to the side. Itachi happily took whatever wasn't snatched up, perfectly happy with any brand of candy. They refrained from taking extra candy that they were going to give out after Itachi went through a conversation about morals. 

It started off slow enough around six, but in less than an hour picked up so quickly that they were getting a line outside of their door. The bowl was running out fast, and they started rummaging through Itachi's kitchen to see if there was anything else they could put in place for the candy. They only had two bowls left, and they were nice enough to give three pieces to each person.

By eight everything almost completely stopped.

"Was it just us that went out till like, one in the morning?" Deidara had asked, confused as to why there were no more knocks on the door.

"They never told me there was an ending time to the event, but I've seen in recent years kids are only out for a few hours. Most adults close their doors at seven," Itachi responds with a shrug.

"That sucks for them," Hidan grimaces, "where's all the fun?"

"We were also teenagers, hm. Most of the time we stayed out goofing off instead of getting candy."

Hidan only nodded his head, getting blankets set up in the living room.

"Don't forget it's a pull out couch!" Itachi called from the bathroom. 

There were four different types of blankets splayed out on the makeshift bed, with pillows from Itachi's room thrown around carelessly. They decided to take a few more pictures of themselves in their costumes, as well as a polaroid for tradition. They'll add it to the journal soon enough.

They made it halfway through The Nightmare Before Christmas.

"You guys look really hot in those costumes and I'm horny," Hidan said bluntly.

Deidara and Itachi only laughed and told Hidan to finish the movie before they did anything. By the credits, Hidan was knocked out completely, snoring into one of the pillows.

"Horny, huh," Deidara snickered, "let's go to bed, 'tachi."

Itachi kissed him on his wrist. They got into a comfortable position. Deidara murmured into Itachi's arm.

"Our first Halloween together."

-

_Winter_

"It's not even cold here when it's technically winter. We live in California, it doesn't even snow."

Deidara and Hidan are taken aback by the way Itachi starts complaining. They're on their third drink of the night, but it seems like Itachi wanted to let himself go earlier than they thought he would. He starts hitting his hand on the table.

"I want to see snow like back home! I want to go ice skating on a lake, and I want to go sledding, and I want to," Itachi pauses, thinking, "make a snowman!"

"Do you think we should take it away from him?" Deidara whispers over to Hidan. "I think he's gone off the deep end with this one. I haven't seen this since high school. Or, at least it's the last time I've seen it _without_ being blackout drunk, yeah."

"No, I think it would be smart to let it take it's course. I know there's a _lot_ of pent up anger in there. I think he's startin' up again, listen."

"No, I don't want to stop there, I want to fuck out in the snow. I'll get frozen, but it'll be _hot_."

"Potty mouth," Hidan tuts, smirking.

And that's the exact moment they all get the idea to spend holiday break back in their hometown.

Thanksgiving wasn't that important anyway. They burned the turkey and got takeout instead.

-

Their bags are packed the day after break starts. December twenty third, cutting it a bit close to Christmas, but they're excited. All three of them went through rigorous planning. Hidan's house was already crossed of the list of places to stay at, and Hidan was thankful to them for being so understanding. Deidara offered up to have them stay at his house, but he mentions his mother's affinity for invading privacy at any given moment. It's out of love, but Deidara points out that he needs their privacy for specific reasons.

So, it leaves Itachi. He's happy to host them for the holidays, but he warns them that he doesn't know how his family will react to the multiple partners aspect of their relationship. Plus, Uchiha holiday events involve most of the family coming to Itachi's family home to celebrate. That'll mean Sasuke will be there, as well as his cousins, his aunts and uncles, even Madara.

They're able to accommodate the amount of people easily due to how well off they are. His father makes the most, but his mother is right behind, providing greatly. 

"Shit, didn't your parents hate me?" Hidan gasps.

"No, they didn't hate you, love, they're actually thankful to you for being there for me."

Hidan grins at him, loading up the rest of their luggage into the car. They all pile into the car, Fuu volunteering to drive them all the way to the airport and to drive Itachi's car back into his apartment parking. She offered to do the driving and the watch over the keys in exchange for holiday couple pictures and a sculpture from Deidara. Deidara almost started crying out of her appreciativeness of his art and relief that the car would be in good hands.

After saying their goodbyes, and a great acting job of mock sadness from Fuu, they go through security, check in their luggage, and wait at their flight number. Itachi, fortunately, keeps calm in high stress situations, and was able to find their gate without breaking down. Deidara and Hidan happily follow him, leaving the logistics to him.

Once they board the flight, Deidara squishes into the window seat, excited to see the view. Itachi takes middle, while Hidan takes the seat closest to the isle. It's only three hours, so watching a simple movie should pass the time. It's one in the morning for them, so they should get there by around six in the morning Wisconsin time. The difference is going to take them all for a loop.

While Hidan busies himself with the movie, Itachi catches up on sleep, leaving Deidara to sketch out drawings. 

As they touch down, they prepare themselves. This holiday break could either go as well as they hope, or completely down the gutter to be mushed into a mud pie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been too long and i'm sorry for that. all of a sudden life got overwhelming and i couldn't find the time to write or have any free time. i started this fic off in my own summer when i was at my happiest, and i just wanted to write a stupid love story about three idiots that go on a road trip. once i wrote the confession and the chapters after that, my own summer was ending. i couldn't help but think how bittersweet this fic would be to me. so i decided i wanted to continue it as it followed the seasons i was going through, but i didn't know if anyone would want to read it beyond the initial "get together." i'm happy to continue writing scenes navigating through their relationship! i just don't want to bore anyone lol. there are probably plot holes spanning throughout this whole thing lmao
> 
> it's past christmas but i would love to write a holiday meet the parents type thing, which is where this comes in. i'm not sure how many chapters it'll span, but i hope it's entertaining!
> 
> anyways, i hope everyone who reads this is doing well right now, and if not, you can keep pushing through! i'm rooting for you! stay safe! and merry late christmas and or happy holidays!


	13. Smells Like Teen Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of a holiday with the Uchihas! And an event that would probably make thirteen year old Itachi's soul fly out of his body permanently!

_"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be landing shortly. Please put on your seatbelts as instructed. Thank you for flying on our airline."_

Hidan stretches awake from his nap as Itachi extends the seatbelt strap over his chest. He lets Itachi finish up what he's started, smirking up lazily at him. Deidara already has his seatbelt on, grinning at the window. It's still dark, but they can see the peak of the sunrise starting to form. The clouds are going to be illuminated in gold soon. 

"Thanks, babe," Hidan drawls, helping Itachi to clean the area around them. 

They go through the waiting process of getting off the plane, kindly letting others leave before them. Check in and going through security is easy, but Deidara groans when he sees the baggage claim. They wait, scared that they might lose a suitcase. Fortunately, they're able to find their things with no problem. 

"Shisui should be here to meet us," Itachi smiles. 

Deidara and Hidan remember Shisui very well. He was practically the only other person who helped them set up events for Itachi. He was only a few years older than them too, which made for easier communication. Deidara remembers him as a bright person who was willing to do anything for his baby cousin. Hidan remembers him for jumping off the schools roof after declaring to the whole crowd that he wanted to end the party with a bang. He had a whole setup of blankets and people at the bottom to catch him, but seeing it while the world was spinning was a new type of experience.

"Itachi?" They hear a voice coming from the arrival terminal. Unmistakably Shisui Uchiha.

Itachi sprints towards the voice with one suitcase rolling behind him, the wheel getting stuck a few times, causing him to stumble. He still manages to race over to Shisui's open arms. The two share a laugh before Hidan and Deidara walk up, snickering. 

"Woah, Hidan, Deidara, is that you?" Shisui asks with wide eyes. 

"Been a while, hasn't it!" Hidan shouts. He and Shisui share a quick hug before Deidara does the same. 

While Shisui leads them to the car, he asks them simple questions. When Shisui went off to college, the three of them were still in their senior year of high school. While Shisui couldn't be there to throw more parties, he made Hidan and Deidara promise to make it a year to remember for Itachi. 

They get into the car, giddy to get back to their hometown. Itachi fidgets in the passenger seat, suddenly nervous. Deidara picks up on it right away, his own nerves starting to set in. Is he going to tell Shisui right now? Deidara taps Hidan's shoulder, eyes darting towards Itachi. Hidan chews on his lip.

"Hey Shisui," Itachi says quietly, "can I tell you something?"

"Why do you sound so scared? Of course you can!"

"Hidan and Deidara, they're-" 

"Who confessed first?" Shisui smirks.

The three of them blink, mouths tightly shut. Itachi tries not to wait too long.

"Technically dei did-"

"Sasuke owes me twenty whole dollars. Thank you Deidara for making my dream possible."

Well, now they're all confused. 

"What?" Hidan says.

"I think the only one's who _didn't_ pick up on it were your own selves. Don't forget I went to almost every party. You three chose the same college, and Deidara wasn't the only one in that bathroom that night. That's why I bet on him. Poor kid went through a crisis."

Itachi pushes him slightly, scoffing. "So you don't care?"

"Of course not! It's cute! And I knew it would happen eventually. Take care of each other, okay? And remember, communication is key."

"What the fuck?" Hidan starts in disbelief.

"Did you honestly think I would kick you out of the car or something? It was blatantly obvious from the day you three met each other." Shisui laughs after his sentence, tapping the steering wheel.

"I always knew you were one of the only people I could entrust my life to," Deidara sighs, "thank you."

Itachi is still silent, tears forming in his eyes. Shisui had been his support system for so long, even while Deidara and Hidan had been there. To get such an accepting reaction from one of the most important people in his life does wonders. He always wants to make Shisui proud, so having him be proud of his relationship is one of the most comforting feelings.

"Seriously, thank you."

"Are you crying? _Man_ , this needs to go into a history book! I'll be here for you no matter what. Love you, little cousin." He pinches Itachi's arm.

"Love you too." Itachi sniffles, fishing out a tissue from his bag.

-

"Do we tell them off the bat or do we wait?" Hidan looks around to try and keep his mind off of what's about to happen.

"If it were me, I would try to tell them as soon as possible," Shisui smiles with worried eyes.

The surroundings are bringing back a sense of deja vu. All three of them remember every street, restaurant, hang out spot and corner. With every building or street they pass by, they can recall at least one memory. It isn't until they take one more turn that they see the famous Uchiha family house. One of the higher end houses with a nicely trimmed front yard and a window that lets those outside see the chandelier hanging from the foyer cieling. 

"Oh my god I forgot you were like, rich," Deidara breathes out, heart rate slowly speeding up.

"Well off," Itachi responds, reaching into the backseat to sooth a hand over Deidara's hair.

"Rich," Shisui quips, "only downside is that everyone's here."

As they unload their things, they hear the front door open. Hidan immediately darts his eyes around to see who it is walking down the path to the driveway. His potential vomit attack fades when he sees a familiar face. Sasuke. 

Sasuke goes up to Itachi, bringing him into a tight hug. To both Hidan and Deidara's memory, Sasuke's been at some of his happiest moments when he's with Itachi. They share a small conversation before Sasuke's eyes dart over to Hidan and Deidara. They straighten up immediately. In their last year of high school, Sasuke had been a freshman. Though he and Deidara didn't have the best relationship, arguments common, the four of them always hung out together. Itachi had mentioned how important Sasuke was to him, so Hidan and Deidara had no problem including him in group activities. He looks more grown now, no doubt in his senior year of high school.

When Hidan and Deidara walk up to the other pair, Hidan tries to break the awkward tension.

"You've grown, you little shit. How've you been doin'?" 

They feel as if they're every move is written down in a book for evaluation. Hidan swallows.

Sasuke smirks.

"You've gone soft," Sasuke taunts, turning to Deidara's direction, "and you seem the same as ever."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Deidara says incredulously. Looks like things have already gone back to normal.

They mock each other a while longer before Shisui tells them to hurry up. He complains that they need to get inside before they freeze. They take hold of their luggage, about to make way up to their potential doom when Deidara feels an arm wrap around his shoulder; Hidan feeling one around his waist. 

"Glad you guys are back. You make him really happy."

The validation from someone like Sasuke almost causes Deidara to break down in the middle of the driveway. Sasuke, if he's being honest, was one of his main concerns. Because of their unsteady relationship in the past, Deidara was unsure if he would get approval. It would hurt to know that someone so close to Itachi would reject him and their relationship. 

It didn't help that Sasuke was a naturally reserved person. This is one of the first times that both Deidara and Hidan can recall being touched - much less hugged by him. It's comforting.

"Mom and dad aren't home yet, and everyone else is out doing some type of event, so you should be able to get setup without being bothered. It'll give you more time to think of a plan too. I take it you haven't told anyone?" 

Itachi shakes his head. "You and Shisui are the only ones who know right now. I briefly mentioned something to mom but everyone else is completely in the dark. We should hurry and get unpacked so we can talk about how we're going to do this."

"Yeah, we needta' make sure everythin' goes well. Plus I gotta piss real bad so the quicker we can go the better."

"Take your time opening the door," Deidara taunts. Hidan smacks his ponytail.

On their way to Itachi's old bedroom, the three of them take a look at the hallway pictures. Generations of Uchiha family members and cute photos sit in straight lines. Hidan even spots a picture with the three of them posing for what looks like prom. They remember the hallways well, so there's no confusion as to where they're headed. They go straight up the stairs, walk down to the second door on the right, and open it.

Immediately they're hit with the scent of pine. It looks exactly how Itachi left it, just a bit more barren. 

"It smells like fragile masculinity and puberty in here, hm."

"I happen to like the scent of pine, dei." Itachi defends.

"Sometimes there's such a thing as too much, babe." Hidan laughs.

"Like I haven't picked up the five different men's colognes you spray all over your clothes. It's like axe body spray threw up on you."

"Okay, fuckin' rude. You said you _like_ how I smell, dipshit. And don't lie, I catch you smelling my clothes."

"To see if they need to go in the wash or not. I almost passed out from smelling your hoodie."

" _Liar_ ," Hidan seethes.

Deidara jumps onto the well made bed, face down. He inhales the smell that lingers on the sheets. Hidan tip toes towards him, getting close enough to touch him without getting noticed. He sticks his hands into the bottom of Deidara's shirt, letting the tips of his fingers drag up the sides of Deidara's waist. Deidara shivers, skin starting to tingle. Deidara turns over onto his back, Hidan's hands still under his shirt. 

"Not the childhood bedroom," Deidara taunts, grinning.

"How much longer till they come back?" Hidan asks, dragging one of his hands down to Deidara's waistband.

"They shouldn't be back for a while," Itachi murmurs, placing one of his fingers on his lips in mock consideration.

While Itachi makes his way over to the two on the bed, he catches Hidan whispering something in Deidara's ear. It causes Deidara to bite his lip. He sits right next to Deidara's free side, tracing Hidan's face with his hand. Hidan pulls Itachi into him, cheesy smile shining through their kiss. Deidara admires from below, rubbing circles into each of their hips with his thumbs. 

"I'll ignore the crappy posters on the wall, don't worry," Hidan teases.

There's a small knock on the door that causes them to all jump up. They sit awkwardly next to each other as Itachi calls the person in. Sasuke and Shisui both come in the room, an eyebrow up when they see them.

"Were we interrupting something?"

"Nope, just dreading unpacking." Deidara manages to find a cover for them. Though it's not much help since they still don't seem convinced.

"Right, so anyways, we just wanted to help you guys create a plan."

"I think I plan on telling mom first, and if everything goes well hopefully she can keep it under wraps for a little while. Dad should understand why they're over for break, we've done it before, it's just a longer timespan."

"Okay cool, so pretty much just under wraps for now?" Shisui confirms.

"Yeah. Thanks for going along with it."

"No problem, Itachi. We're happy to help, right Sasuke?"

"Mhm."

"We'll leave you to unpack and tend to your _private_ affairs." The pair leaves without another word. 

"Where were we?" It seems like Itachi is the one that isn't hesitant to hold back though Sasuke and Shisui are definitely still in earshot if they're loud enough.

"Somewhere important, hm." Deidara mouths at Itachi's neck.

"Lay down, pretty boy." Itachi seems confused at Hidan's words. Still, he follows the instruction, sprawling himself on his own bed. They all seem to know that they can't take their time like they usually do. Because they don't know exactly when the rest of Itachi's family will make an appearance, it's best to keep things short and sweet. 

That doesn't mean they can't have their fun. Hidan and Deidara keep giving each other a mischievous look and it makes Itachi weary. He's stripped of his pants and underwear thanks to Hidan's quick hands. His shoes and socks are thrown in different corners of the room. They leave his sweater on, though.

"Fuck, he looks so good like this."

Instead of answering, Deidara makes lightwork of kissing the inside of Itachi's thighs. They're a fresh canvas to leave new bruises and bites on. Itachi is surprised at the amount of tenderness and care they're putting into him. Usually, he wants to be the one giving up all his affection. The mouth draws closer and closer to where he needs attention the most. In a moment of bliss, he closes his eyes to enjoy the small nips being left on his skin. 

A sudden sensation knocks the breath out of his lungs. 

Two tongues lick at his cock, brushing over each other and swirling as if they were having a competition to see who could make Itachi come first. He's only able to crane his neck up a little to look down. The sight is almost _too_ overwhelming for him. Hidan and Deidara look like they're both trying to occupy a space that the other isn't. It's sloppy, messy in the sense that there's a pool of saliva forming. But it's so _hot_ and Itachi doesn't know what to do besides cling onto the bedsheets, crying out every moan as quietly as he can.

Every little action doesn't go unnoticed by Itachi. Actually, the more he looks and analyzes every detail, the harder he has to hold back the sounds he so desperately wants to make. He can see the way Hidan tucks Deidara's hair behind his ear after it falls out of the ponytail. He feels the press of their mouths as they kiss their way up and down his cock. They focus on the tip, though, starting with a drag of slow, sensual licks. Their pace is so vastly different that he can never expect what to feel next. When he thinks they've set a tempo, one of them switches it up to something fast and rough.

The _kiss_ they share when their mouths meet at the tip of Itachi's cock has him seeing stars.

" _Oh_ \- so good. You two are doing so good. Please- please keep going." It comes out as a whimper, much to Itachi's embarrassment.

He's only met with moans and the slick noises coming from their tongues. Itachi's head drops back onto the bed, pushing into it. It causes his back to arch, and it seems to spur the two on. He can feel a tongue trail lower and lower until it presses up against his hole the same time another sucks down his cock. 

" _Fuck_ , fuck-" Itachi's whole body stills as his orgasm sends shockwaves through his body, burning through him so strongly he doesn't make a sound. He's shaking, and he thinks that it lasts forever until a hand comes up to move his hair away from his forehead.

Itachi opens his eyes to see two angels looking down at him.

"Good?" Hidan asks, eyes shining. Itachi swallows and laughs.

"Fuck yeah! Now let's get you cleaned up, yeah?" Deidara helps Itachi sit up. 

They lead him to his bathroom where they clean him off in the shower. It's a good time to unpack their clothes anyway. The bed, to their shock, wasn't affected at all besides the parts of the sheet Itachi used to twist in his hands.

"We've never seen you like that before, and the sweater made it _ten_ times better, babe."

"You didn't have to do that for me," Itachi brushes out Deidara's hair, "wait, did you guys even get to-"

"Don't worry about that, 'tachi. We wanted to focus on you for once. You're amazing for letting us stay here, and you're brave enough and comfortable enough to tell them about us, even if some of them might lash out, hm. There's so much stress being put on you, and we just wanted to help you unwind, even if it's just for a little while." 

Itachi is genuinely at a loss for words. He can only embrace them as hard as he can.

"Thank you, you're too good to me."

"Not good enough, I think. We needta' step it up a bit, don't we dei? He has to deal with my five different men's colognes."

"Yeah, yeah we do," Deidara laughs. 

They're able to get unpacked quickly. Since they're all relatively the same size, they opt to throw all their clothes into the same dresser instead of separating them. Some of the presents they bought are stored in the bottom drawer. Anything else is either put in the bathroom or in whatever drawer is left. Itachi isn't entirely sure how he's so energetic after having the soul sucked from him. He still feels bad about not taking care of them, so he puts it on his to-do list for later in the trip.

They're in the middle of calling Fuu when they hear a voice shouting from downstairs.

"Itachi? Is that you?" It's without a doubt Mikoto Uchiha. Itachi's mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! i started writing this immediately after i had posted the last chapter but again my uploading schedule is so wacky at this point. today is going to be a busy day for those in the US (and even those who are tuning in for the inauguration) so please stay safe wherever you are just in case a repeat of the other incident happens! 
> 
> the trio debauching itachi's childhood bedroom was unplanned but not unwelcome so I'll take it!
> 
> have an amazing day or night, take care of yourselves, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading! <3


	14. Candy Cane Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a fine line between nerves and almost passing out on the last stair step, but Deidara doesn't know the difference and neither does Hidan, so.

"Coming mom, it's me!" Itachi shouts from his bedroom door, suddenly anxious. Deidara and Hidan follow closely behind him as they descend the steps of the stairs.

Hidan starts noticing Deidara swaying as they reach the end of the staircase. It makes him equally ready to pass out on the spot, but he doesn't expect Deidara to actually lean over, eyes closed.

"Let me take a few breaths, yeah? I suddenly repent for tainting the childhood bedroom."

"When did you become religious?" Hidan teases, trying to shift their worries.

"When Itachi's mom and whoever else might be with her walked through the door."

"Fair enough. 'Tachi, your verdict?"

"Might as well get it over with. This could decide a _lot_ but I'd rather show them the people I care about most than keep it in the dark."

They melt at Itachi's words. It's true that it would be better to start off telling the truth than trying to drag along a very, _very_ obvious lie. Continuing down the hallway into the foyer, they find themselves following the sound of Mikoto's voice. It takes them no time at all to reach her, and suddenly everything is emotional again. Mikoto had basically been a second mother to Deidara and Hidan. She was often in the background of many town gatherings, her husband handling most of the talking, but she was such a sweet woman who cared so much for those around her.

While Shisui and Sasuke had been the first ones to know, they already had a suspicion early on. It could be vastly different with the rest of Itachi's family. She turns her head to look at the three of them. Her eyes light up and she runs toward her son. She's small, so it's no problem for Itachi to lift her up slightly to swing her around while she hugs him. 

"I've missed you so much, Itachi. I think the last time I saw you was when you visited during the summer!"

"I missed you too, mom. Sorry I couldn't come back sooner, I've been busy lately with school and my job."

She's incredibly understanding and holds no ill will towards Itachi. Before she asks about anything else, she finally notices the two other guests standing in the doorway. Suddenly, Deidara tenses up and Hidan's palms get clammy.

"Hidan? Deidara? Is that really you? Itachi mentioned he wanted you two to stay here but it's really been too long. You all look so grown up now—" her eyes look glassy as she rushes over to them, "you used to be so small."

She tries her best to wrap her arms around both of their necks. Deidara, being the shortest, doesn't have to bend down at all. Hidan crouches slightly so she has an easier time. They sigh internally at Mikoto for being so caring towards them. When she pulls back, they grin at her. Itachi watches with a certain look in his eyes Hidan can't pinpoint. His face is soft, and his demeanor is much more relaxed than it was before. While it's still going to be terrifying to tell her, the reassurance she gave them from that one interaction is enough to lower the panic level.

"Hey mom before anything else can we all talk for a second?" Itachi seems to be heading straight into it. While Mikoto looks confused they make their way over to the counter. 

Deidara and Hidan are confrontational by nature. In some situations, they hole themselves up until everything breaks apart, but in most cases they like to be upfront. They both have no problem yelling at someone for their wrongdoings, and it's always been a trait they've admired about themselves. Itachi likes to keep everything as peaceful as possible. Not to say he wouldn't start confrontations— because he can. He would just rather let go of things quickly if they don't matter to him that much.

In this event, the cases are flipped. Itachi seems more confident about telling his dear mother while Deidara and Hidan are ready to chew their nails off. 

"I know you said that you'd support me no matter what, so I'm hoping you can accept it." Mikoto tilts her head but stays silent to let Itachi speak.

"Me, Hidan, and Deidara are dating. We're together and we care about each other very much—" It's at that moment that Mikoto laughs.

"Itachi, a mother's intuition is never wrong. The three of you have been together since you were little. I've seen you grow up together and I've seen a bond form between the three of you. Sometimes you have room in your heart for more than one person and that's okay. That just means that you have a lot of love to give out."

Deidara is already crying into Itachi's shoulder as Mikoto gives her speech. Hidan's hand is around Deidara's waist, hand holding on tightly to Deidara's clothes. 

"Mrs. Uchiha—"

"Please call me Mikoto."

"Mrs. Mikoto—" She only continues to laugh while Hidan absorbs the information he's just been presented with. 

"Thank you," Deidara finishes Hidan's sentence, "thank you so much, hn."

"You don't have to thank me for anything, dear. I know you're good for him and he'll support you too. I'll find out if he doesn't," Mikoto says teasingly, pinching Itachi's arm. He hisses but goes to pull her into another hug.

"It's dad and Uncle Madara I'm worried about."

"You know them, they care about you very much and want what's best for you, just like I do. I'm sure with a little convincing you can win them both over. You just need to show them how much this means to you." She reaches out and takes each of their hands to stack onto one another. She sandwiches their hands with her own. "It's all about teamwork."

"Oh god the eyeliner is running down my face isn't it?"

"You still look handsome, Deidara."

They all beam at Mikoto.

-

"I was literally prepared for a family drama that would result in us getting kicked out!" Hidan spews as they're walking out of the house and onto the sidewalk. They're stocked up on winter gear— scarfs, gloves, hats, earmuffs. Mikoto refused to let them leave the house without anything less. 

"Even if she didn't accept us I don't think she would've acted dramatically, though I can't say I'm not relieved that she gave us the best reaction we could've hoped for," Itachi quips.

"You articulate your words so well," Deidara hums, pulling on Itachi's winter jacket to tug him closer. Hidan tries his best to walk slower without being noticed. Once he knows that they're starting up another conversation, he scoops up a pile of snow and forms it into a little ball. With accurate aim he's able to throw one at each of their necks. Deidara yelps in surprise as the snow starts melting against the back of his neck. 

Instantly Itachi's digging his hand into the ground, opting to throw the snow at Hidan in a pile rather than taking the time to shape it. It ends up working better than the ball would've, covering Hidan's whole front instead of one specific area. While Itachi kept Hidan distracted, Deidara managed to stockpile three snowballs. He throws them all at Hidan's jeans, right on his ass.

"What the _fuck_!" Hidan scrambles to get footing so that he can make a break for it. They chase him all the way down the street, pausing to pick up more snow. Once they reach a stop sign Hidan makes a right. He can already tell they're getting tired, sluggish movements through the snow evident when Itachi starts sliding. Hidan takes pride in the amount of stamina he has. 

"Okay, okay, you win, you asshole!" Hidan hears Deidara shout from a distance behind him. 

"Like I fuckin' thought! You two thought you could team up on me, huh?" Hidan smirks at them, clearly cocky and reveling in his victory. 

" _Right_ , definitely," Itachi drawls. "Should we get some food? I'm starving."

Deidara and Hidan eagerly nod their heads. While they could've taken the car, it would be nice to walk around their town for a while. Plus, there's no fun in skipping a snowball fight. 

Instead of picking a childhood restaurant, they decide on something simple and easy to pick up. They eat quickly, more than ready to explore. Deidara brings up the idea of visiting his parents, even if it is just to say hi. He figures he should tell them about his relationship too. Hidan stays silent in thought about what he wants to do. His parents were never a good support system, and he'll never regret saying that he's more than fine with not talking to them, but he has something to prove. He needs to show them how much he's grown and how much better his life is compared to theirs. 

He needs to show them that he's happy where he is, without them. 

"I think I'll stop by my parents house too. Might as well just tell 'em to rub it in their faces."

"You sure you wanna do that, hm? They really messed you up." Deidara soothes a hand down Hidan's head.

"Nah, babe, I'll be fine. I just wanna ask for you guys to be there to back me up. I really wanna show them that I'm better now. That I'm happy, y'know?"

"Of course. We can go whenever you want." Itachi gives him a thumbs up.

-

Deidara makes his way up his driveway, feet crunching in the snow. Hidan and Itachi aren't far behind, encouraging him the closer he gets to the door. It's not like his parents were _bad_ , they just didn't get along that well. While they were supportive on almost everything, he knew his parents had preconceived notions on how a person should _function_. When his parents had found out about Sasori in high school they'd lost it. It wasn't because of Sasori's personality, though it really should've been the reason. It was because of the simple fact that he was another boy. 

They got over it eventually, but Deidara's parents had kept tabs on him for the rest of his high school years. He hadn't dated anyone the rest of that time, boy or not. He's honestly curious to see how they'll react to him having not one— but two boyfriends. 

"Just a quick conversation," Deidara breathes to himself, knocking on the door.

His parents open the door immediately, embracing him into a hug. His mothers blonde hair is pinned up in a bun. 

"Deidara sweetie! I'm so glad you decided to visit!" Deidara hugs them back hesitantly. His dad immediately notices Hidan and Itachi standing on the bottom steps of the porch.

"You two look familiar," he says, squinting his eyes. 

"It's Hidan and Itachi back from high school, remember? We hung out all the time and I told you we'd be going to university together!" Deidara beams, heart rate skyrocketing.

"Oh right, I remember you two now."

"Actually, I dropped by to tell you guys something important. I'm already an adult and I can make my own choices but I know that I need to let you guys know because it's such an important part of my life." Deidara's mom raises her eyebrows but motions for him to keep talking. There's a small cloud of tension forming. His dad's eyes only sharpen.

"Well, here it is, hm. I'm in a relationship with these two," Deidara points towards Hidan and Itachi, his voice firm. "I care about them very much and it would be nice if you supported us."

There's a pause before Deidara's mom speaks up. In those seconds, Itachi starts wondering if he needs to plan for the worst. He reaches out his hand to grab the back of Deidara's coat, tugging at it to remind Deidara that he and Hidan are still there and ready to back him up no matter what happens.

"With two people?" His mom is quiet. 

"Two _men_?" His father chimes in, and that's his cue.

"Is there a problem? They treat me incredibly well and we've all known each other for so long. Yeah, we caused trouble in high school, but you guys saw that we were all good kids."

"Well, sweetie, it's just unexpected. It's really not common to have more than one partner, much less— "

"Much less _what_?" Deidara's anger starts to rise and he knows he needs to cool down before he starts yelling. He's gotten a hold on his temper recently but in a situation like this he feels like he should be allowed to be upset.

"Much less two _men_ , Deidara." His father's voice is cold and distant. He's heard it before and it doesn't shock him anymore, but it does hurt when he knows that Hidan and Itachi are watching his parents actively try to diminish their relationship right in front of their eyes. So much for support.

"Y'know, I really don't get what the big deal is here," Hidan says, catching everyone's attention. "Your son is tryin' to ask you to support him and his relationship. And it's not just him, either, it's me and Itachi too. We really like your son and we want what's best for him. If it's not hurtin' anyone why be so against it?"

"Because it's unnatural." Deidara can hear his dad's voice rising.

"Dei, honey, we just want what's best for you. Are you sure this is what you want to do?" 

"Mom, this is all I've ever wanted. Support me or not I just came here to tell you." Deidara starts making his way down the steps. He grabs hold of Hidan's hand and loops an arm around Itachi's shoulder.

"Dei!" His mother's voice starts to mold into _that_ tone. "Don't you dare walk away from us!"

"Merry Christmas." Itachi looks behind him to smile. Deidara's father is clearly angry while his mother is trying to calm herself down. They freeze when they hear Itachi's next words. "I'll be sure to hang up the mistletoe."

The three of them say nothing as they walk down Deidara's street. He can still hear his mom calling out for him to come back. It's always been a rocky relationship, and while he would have loved it if things went smoothly, he knew deep down something like this would happen. His parents were too close minded for someone of his grandeur anyway. He doesn't want to get anymore upset about it than he already is. If they choose not to support him then that's on them. It's not like they were helping much with anything else.

"They lost a good kid," Hidan teases, bumping their hips together.

"Damn right they did," Deidara pushes back. He's grinning, and while it might hurt for a while, he knows he's better off with the people he wants to be with the most. 

"I almost regressed into my high school self," Itachi admits, "I almost lost it when your dad made that first comment."

" _Two men_?" Hidan deepens his voice to try and mock Deidara's dad. 

Itachi and Hidan do their best to try and make Deidara laugh. They know he claims he's okay, but having a blow like that _hurts_. As they're walking back towards Itachi's house, they come up with a list of things to do.

"We can visit my parents another day. It's gonna be a fuckin' pain to deal with and I don't want it addin' to today."

"That's fine— I think we would need to prepare ourselves for that anyway. I was thinking we could go ice skating sometime tomorrow." They all share their ideas at once.

"Can we add sleddin' to the list?"

"I really wanna bake cookies, yeah."

"We need to make sure we set a time up to wrap the gifts."

"And I'm sure that your family wants to spend some time with you, babe. Set some time for them too!"

"I want another snowball fight rematch, hn."

Once they reach Itachi's house they notice it's already later in the day. Mikoto is starting to prepare for dinner when they walk into the kitchen. There's still no sign of anyone besides Shisui, Sasuke, and Mikoto being home. As they fill in Mikoto on their events for the day, she sighs. She moves to wash her hands in the sink, drying them as fast as she can before pulling Deidara into a hug. 

"You didn't deserve that, Deidara. I'll have to talk to them the next time I see them." Deidara cries into her shoulder, laughing as she describes her frustration dramatically.

"Your mom is scary when she's angry," Hidan whispers.

"You should've seen her when she yelled and me and Sasuke for being out too late while I was still a freshman. I think I saw the afterlife." 

They lounge around for a bit. Deidara decides to help Mikoto with the cooking, asking Hidan and Itachi to go and relax. When Hidan tries going into the kitchen to kiss Deidara he's ushered out. They shoo him out of the door and ask him to wait until everything's done. He chuckles as he takes Itachi's hand to lead them into the bedroom.

"Oh? Is this what we're doing now? Our other boyfriend is working _so_ hard for us, you know."

"Relax, golden boy, I just wanted to lay down for a little while. It's _you_ who got the wrong idea," Hidan taunts.

"Well, excuse me for thinking that way. It's just you're always so _eager_." Itachi decides to join in on the act.

"Maybe another time, _dearest_ , unless _you're_ the one who's eager."

Itachi breaks first, laughing at their own stupidity. 

"Yeah, let's settle for another time. I'm too tired." 

"Alright then, babe, let's take a nap!"

They move to get under the covers, changing first so that they don't get anything dirty. Hidan acts as the big spoon, arms caging around Itachi's middle. They both talk quietly about anything they can think of. Hidan rambles about the plot to some random TV show he ended up getting attached to. Itachi reiterates a baking recipe for cookies. They both fall asleep quickly, breathing going even. 

When Deidara comes into the room not a full hour later he sees them nestled up to each other. He feels horrible for having the wake them up but he hopes they can eat a warm meal and the three of them can finally crash for the night to catch up on the different sleep schedules. There is one tiny problem though, and it involves a few more people.

Specifically, the whole rest of the Uchiha family. 

He gently shakes them awake, pressing his nose to Hidan's neck and his hand to Itachi's forehead. They look annoyed at first but when they notice it's Deidara in front of them they soften up. 

"Dinners ready!"

"Five more minutes _please_ , come join us Princess."

"I would absolutely love to but we have some pressing matters, yeah."

"Dinner can wait," Hidan groans.

"The rest of Itachi's family can _not_."

Itachi's head drops back into the pillow as Hidan throws the blankets off.

"Another religious test I see," Itachi muffles into the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm not overly happy with how this chapter turned out but i really wanted to post it! i totally missed valentine's day but happy late one! if things go all over the place from here on out, i can confidently say my brain is doing three sixties every five minutes.
> 
> have an amazing day or night and take care of yourselves!!! <3


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